“How?” demanded Morgane, and Nate sensed Hildi tense in the background.

  Nate ignored her for the moment. He was sensing what had happened when he had made the connection and finally recognised the Concept emanating from the Princess. That moment of recognition had caused something to change within him. He was finding it hard to describe, beyond his sister's own words, but for a moment, he had felt more real. Like every part of him had connected with something for that brief moment. And just like Kiri had said, he hadn’t felt anything from his Class Core. The feeling was fading now, but from the experience, he was certain that something remained. Leaving a small part of his mind to continue working through the problem, he let the rest of his attention return to the Princess.

  “How what, your Highness?” Nate asked. He had chosen a side, but that didn’t mean she was entitled to all his secrets. He would likely tell her something, but he wanted her to be clearer on her suspicions so he could decide what to reveal.

  “How can you recognise my Embodiment? My veil feels intact, and if you can pierce Legendary veils without breaking them or having anyone sense them, then you’re even more powerful than I initially thought.”

  Nate shook his head. She knew he was Legendary, or at least, that he must have some Legendary Skills. Revealing a fraction of what one of them could do should satisfy her without going overboard.

  “One of my crafting Skills specialises in recognising Concepts. I am actually surprised it took this long to figure it out since whatever you’re doing seems to almost always be ‘on’ so I have been exposed to it a lot,” he answered.

  Morgane looked thoughtful and Nate sensed Hildi relax in the background.

  “I can see how such a Skill would be useful to a crafter. It would help you recognise material affinities without the need for expensive and specialised tools. It would also help you figure out how others had crafted items. Does it work on system items?” she asked curiously.

  Nate nodded.

  “What about spells? Does it help you recognise the Sigils embedded within them?”

  “No,” he answered, knowing it was only a partial truth. Conceptual Insight didn’t recognise the Sigils, though it did let him sense the Concepts in use.The Divine Translation Spell, on the other hand, told him exactly what Sigil was involved — most of the time, anyway. It was, after all, reliant on Arikanvil’s knowledge, which while prodigious, did not seem to veer into the Grandmaster tier.

  “A shame, but still, a useful Skill. I imagine it helps you figure out enchantments?” the Princess asked, and though her tone had remained the same, he sensed there was more to the question.

  “It does,” he answered carefully.

  “Including defensive enchantments?”

  His nod was slow as he tried to figure out where she was going with this. He made the connection a second later as the Princess grinned in victory. Asmuisil used enchantments. Asmuisil had raided their camp tonight. He was a spatial mage, who were apparently natural thieves, who could also break enchantments.

  “Yes, and yes I will,” he replied, answering both the question she had asked and the one that she was building to.

  Morgane raised an eyebrow, “Yes you will what?”

  “Yes, I will raid the Asmuisil camp and steal some of their supplies.”

  Morgane smiled in amusement and shook her head, “Intelligent...do you need anything from me to pull it off?”

  “Some mana would be good,” he replied. Sure, he had plenty of mana gems on him, more than enough to pull off a heist. But how would it look if he paid for it all himself? One thing the Princess had never commented on was his mana usage. He may have chosen a side, may be supporting and aiding her, but he wasn’t convinced she would be happy if she found out how much mana he was stealing from the Capital. Better to let her pay for any of his services or aid, or at least fund the mana it would cost him.

  “You’ll have it,” agreed Morgane, giving a nod to Hildi who produced a small fortune in mana gems from a spatial storage. “Anything else?”

  Nate shook his head. He had everything he needed to pull off a heist. Between his farsight sphere of awareness, Frick and Kiri, it should be a quick in-and-out job. He left unsaid his second reason for making the attempt: Asmuisillan Champion armour. He wanted one to study. Returning it when he was done was a possibility, as he didn’t really want to steal something like that permanently. But understanding how they had designed it, the Concepts the enchanters had used, would go a long way towards making some armour for Britt, and potentially, for himself.

  Morgane stood and Nate took the cue, standing himself.

  “So much for dinner,” he commented.

  “Would you want to eat now, given what you intend to do tonight?” asked the Royal.

  “No, I suppose not,” he agreed. His stomach was already doing flips at the idea of the heist. He would be entering their opponents — he still refused to consider them enemies — camp. Food was the last thing he wanted now, even if the fare the Princess enjoyed was far superior to the rations the Guild had brought.

  “Best of luck, Nathaniel. Hildi and I won’t be telling anyone, since the Bright Army already has infiltrators in it. If you succeed, I would appreciate it if you brought some of what you manage to steal to me to replace what we lost tonight.”

  Nate nodded his agreement as he headed for the tent flap and stepped out into the night. A clear sky full of stars hung overhead, only partially obscured by the fires and enchanted lights of the Bright Army. Morgane had asked only for enough from the raid to replace what her army had lost that night. If what she said was true, then maybe, he thought, she was genuinely invested in the ideas she espoused. He would give her that much at least, and see what she did with the returned goods, or if she would ask for more. As for the rest of what they stole, well, his crafting wasn’t cheap. A donation from their opposition to the Artists Emporium would certainly be welcome. Now, all he needed to do was convince his sister that they should raid an enemy army filled with Golds and Platinums and better enchantments than anything they had seen in Etrua.

  *************

  “By the Nine Hells, yes!” Kiri exclaimed, clenching a fist, being as loud as she wanted with the anti-scrying ward already concealing their discussion.

  “This is the most goblin thing ever,” agreed Frick, the little blue goblin’s toothy grin absolutely vicious.

  “You’re sure?” asked Nate. “It could get dangerous if we get caught.”

  He hadn’t forgotten how the Platinum Wind Mage had managed to blast him with some cutting wind spell before he had even been aware she was targeting him.

  “Who cares about that,” grunted Kiri. “I’m still pissed about the attack earlier and always being on the defensive. Not too keen on killing anyone, unless they force us. But stealing from them? Fair’s fair. They started it.”

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  “Stealing is a goblins' favourite pastime,” agreed Frick. “I’m just mad we’ve waited this long!”

  “Okay then,” Nate agreed, glancing around his warded tent. “Frick, can you try and find any locations that look like they might be supply locations within the Asmuisillan Army?”

  “Or people,” added Kiri.

  “Or people,” he agreed.

  Frick just grinned before vanishing, making liberal use of Nate’s own Skills.

  Nate turned to look at Kiri.

  “I felt it,” he stated, eyes intense.

  “I knew it! She’s totally into you!” quipped Kiri. “Does a Princess feel like most older women or do they age better? Like wine?”

  Nate tried his hardest not to smile before finally caving and giving her a chagrined grin.

  “No, I felt what you described after you were reborn,” he answered quietly. “I felt more….real.”

  Kiri’s face lit up and she moved closer.

  “What happened?”

  He told the story from the start, explaining about Hildi, the Legendary item she wore, then his meeting with the Princess and his recognition of the Concept surrounding her and the feeling that followed.

  “It’s tied to the Embodiment then. It has to be right?” said Kiri, a frown of consternation on her face.

  “I think so,” he agreed. “But then how does that work? Your Embodiment is Perfect. Mine is currently Partial. Have you felt it again since then?”

  Kiri shook her head, “No. Only when I used the Soul Twin. It’s a form of rebirth. So it must have to do with doing something that aligns with your Embodiment. You’ve never felt it when ‘Wandering’?”

  “Nope. Never. Though…have I ever really ‘wandered’? It sounds somewhat directionless…and I have never really tried to focus on that or what it meant. The moment we found out about Embodiments I was already thinking about how to change mine.”

  “True,” Kiri agreed. “And I only felt…whatever it was…when I used the Soul Twin. I didn’t feel anything like that when you saved me in Helmfirth Forest.”

  “You mean after you saved me,” he responded, raising an eyebrow which elicited a grin from his sister.

  “Yeah yeah, nobody’s keeping score. Anyway, that still doesn’t tell us what it is. That feeling. It felt like it faded away. Same for you?”

  Nate focused inwards. Something of the feeling lingered, but just like his sister had pointed out, it was fading away.

  “Same for me,” he replied after a moment.

  “Guess we will just have to recapture that feeling then,” said Kiri, a dangerous smirk on her face.

  “Don’t do anything too insane, alright?” Nate cautioned, knowing his words would fall on deaf ears.

  “Fuck that,” Kiri answered. “I’m immortal. Remember?”

  Nate rolled his eyes and teleported slightly to avoid the playful punch Kiri threw at him.

  “Coralie?” Nate asked, changing the subject.

  “Don’t want to talk about it,” Kiri replied, glancing away, though not before Nate caught the pained look on his sister's face. Hopefully a successful heist would help distract his sister from her relationship woes. For one night, at least.

  “So, we’re taking a side?” Kiri commented, changing the subject. Nate had shared everything about his meeting with Morgane with his sister. That included Morgane’s comments about getting their support. Both of them.

  “I think we should, if we’re going to stay.”

  “I’m in,” Kiri agreed.

  “Just like that?” he asked.

  “Just like that. They attacked you, attacked us. Fabien went after you. Then House Desmarais. Who is next? The Princes? The King? You’re right that I don’t want to leave Etrua. Not yet, at least. If we’re going to stay, and we’re going to get attacked anyway, we might as well make some allies. The Princess will do for now…and if she betrays us…well, I will handle that.”

  Nate didn’t need to see his sister's eyes to know what she meant. For his sister, a betrayal was the severing of a connection, and Kiri was an artist with a knife.

  Frick chose that moment to reappear, a wild grin on his face.

  “So?” demanded Kiri, though Nate recognised she was just trying to focus on something other than the implications of potentially assassinating a Royal. At least she had her head in the game, he supposed.

  “How big do we want to go?” asked the goblin, blue eyes shining with glee.

  “Biggest,” answered Kiri without hesitation.

  “Their supplies are a lot more centralised,” replied Frick. “They’ve got three tents that look like supply caches. All well guarded by teams that look like Golds. I didn’t think I saw any Platinums, but then, they don’t have many, do they?”

  “But?” asked Nate.

  “But, I saw through the flaps of one of the tents. They’ve got empowering enchantments set up in them. I didn’t see any Champion armour, but if one shows up, we could be in trouble, Boss.”

  “Wonder why they actually set up supply tents,” mused Kiri, apparently unconcerned about the risks.

  “Because they’re an actual army,” replied Nate. “Ours is made up of Nobles and conscripts. The Nobles bring their own supplies and the conscripts are only given the absolute basics. Some food and common weaponry. We’re a melting pot of various forces brought together for just as many reasons. They’re actually an army. Makes sense they would need more supplies, like spare armour etc. But it sounds like their supplies are potentially better guarded. Doesn’t matter though. The question is, do we still want to do this?”

  “Yes,” stated Kiri emphatically. Frick just grinned, showing sharp teeth.

  “Alright then. Frick, mark the location. Prepare the rune.”

  His Familiar vanished and he turned to look at Kiri.

  “Aisling might not be happy about this,” cautioned Kiri, though her eyes said she wanted to follow through with the plan regardless.

  “She might not. But, we had to choose a side sooner rather than later. She is still a Platinum. If she doesn’t want to follow us into this, no one will fault her. And if she does, maybe at the end of this, we all get what we want.”

  Kiri tilted her head curiously, waiting for him to continue.

  “A stronger Adventurer’s Guild led by Prefects that exhibit less self-interest.”

  Kiri smiled in understanding.

  “Ready, Boss,” whispered Frick into his mind.

  Nate activated Conceptual Runic Mastery, preparing three runic arrays: Mana Drain, to try and disperse or weaken any protective enchantments on Asmuisil’s supplies; Gravity Control, to control the fight, and finally, a runic array combining Light, Sound, Illusion and Barrier, to hide the area. The mana they used might have been detectable, if not for Frick setting up a Mana Obfuscation Array beneath the ground. It should keep them from getting noticed for a little while, though with a handful of Golds fighting, he doubted it would hold for long. The notification flashed in the corner of his vision.

  Congratulations on creating an Illusionary Barrier rune (Master Quality).

  Your achievement has been recorded.

  “Time to go,” he said to Kiri.

  His sister grinned at him then they both vanished. Conceptual Spatial Manipulation took three jumps as he quickly went from his tent, to the churned-up battlefield, then just beyond the Asmuisil earthen bulwark, before appearing outside a large warded white tent. The guards responded immediately but he had already let the Light and Sound Illusion Barrier runic array flare outwards, keeping sound in and preventing most of the light from escaping. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it should hold for long enough.

  Two swordsmen rushed at him, arms pumping with their blades out and ready to skewer him. Both went careening into the ground as Kiri appeared behind them, looping her Soul Tethered arms around their ankles and tripping them.

  With a nod, he focused on the tent as his sphere of awareness told him everything he needed to know. Seven guards, all reacting to their sudden appearance. The mana obfuscation array beneath the ground was keeping everyone's mana usage from alerting the rest of the camp. His illusion barrier was hiding the visible and auditory signs. Now, he just needed to get into the tent. Conceptual Insight hummed as Farsight of the Runic Artist sensed the mana flows: an Epic Barrier. With a smile, he set up his Mana Drain runic array, guiding his Intents through Conceptual Runic Mastery. Adding Subconcepts, he empowered the Drain Concept with the Subconcepts of Ravenous, Devouring and Rapid. To Mana, he added Empowered. Through his sphere he could tell that the Epic barrier would fold in less than five minutes.

  He just hoped they would have that long. Turning away from his handiwork he rushed to join his sister and Familiar. First the battle, and then the rewards.

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