Aren's POV
Town Hall turned out to be more of a town shack, but it did its job. A single-room building beside the elder's house, it stored everything from festival bunting to spare farming tools and, most relevantly, a locked cabinet of minor relics and artifacts.
Mira led us inside, the late afternoon sun casting long beams through the open door. Dust motes swirled as she rifled through a ring of keys and unlocked a sturdy walnut cabinet against the far wall. Ren posted himself at the door, ever on guard, while Leo and I crowded behind Mira like kids promised candy.
She swung the cabinet doors open, and I mentally revised: not minor relics....treasures. At least to my greedy little eyes. Rows of scrolls, vials of dried herbs, a few talismans on chains, and even a polished short sword that faintly glimmered with imbued mana.
"Jackpot," I murmured.
Leo gave a more dignified nod. "This is a well-stocked collection for a village this size."
Mira pulled out a shallow wooden tray containing several amulets. "Father Aram built it up over years. He traded for protective charms whenever he traveled." She pointed to a circular bronze medallion etched with a maze-like design. "That one repels lesser spirits within five paces. And this "she lifted a small bell made of silver ". This can temporarily ward off the undead when rung with prayer." Her voice faltered on the word 'prayer' and it occured to her that there's no priest to ring it now.
I gently took the silver bell from her palm. "Permission to borrow this noise-maker? I am very experienced when it comes to using bells" I jingled it softly while winking at her. It made a pleasant, clear tone. If it wards undead, great. If not, at least it sounds nice.
Mira mustered a smile. "Permission granted."
Leo was already selecting a few scrolls, carefully unrolling the corner of one to peek. "Barrier talisman scripts," he noted happily. "These could reinforce the village from intrusion… Very useful." He set aside two scrolls and then picked up a stoppered clay jar. Popping it open, he sniffed. "Salted holy ash. Good for drawing purification circles or messing up necromancy rituals."
I glanced at Leo. The kid looked like he'd found the cheat codes. The temple library clearly did a number on him; overnight he picked up the priests' symbol- enchantments sorcery. For context, his Rune, [Ashen Mind], gives him [Absolute Dissection], basically he can read the intent inside an ability. Everything else? That's Leo being Leo. His disruptions and the wiring the village with intent-tagged wards that ping us if an undead sneezes near a post, condensing his mana until it's almost solid, and learning temple sorcery at stupid speed. On its own, [Ashen Mind] isn't flashy. In his hands, it's a toolkit and his brain turns that toolkit into an arsenal. The rune seems be really good support type rune that'd shine with a good team.
Ren glanced over from the doorway. "Any weapons effective against spirits?"
I spotted the a long sword I'd noted earlier. Its crossguard was shaped like a rising sun. "What's the story on this blade, Mira?" I asked.
She lifted it with both hands, reverently. "It's called Dawn's Edge. It's been blessed by temple clergy. Father Aram said it isn't very sharp, but it burns undead flesh."
Ren stepped forward and accepted the sword, examining it. The blade indeed had a blunt look, more like a heavy saber than a razor edge. But when Ren channeled a bit of his mana into it, the blade glowed faintly gold. He gave a tiny satisfied grunt. "not the weapon I'd prefer but this will do." He slid his nodachi off his belt and actually left it by the cabinet, replacing it with Dawn's Edge at his hip. For Ren to leave behind his signature weapon, this holy looking sword had to be something special.
Mira looked a tad alarmed at him abandoning the nodachi. Ren noticed and offered a rare explanation, voice low. "Steel doesn't bite wind or specters very well. A sun-blessed blade will. I can handle sharpness with mana."
She relaxed, nodding. I think she was just surprised he'd part with his sword at all, even temporarily. Honestly, so was I. Ren's nodachi was practically part of his body. But the fact he'd swap it out without hesitation showed how serious he was taking tonight's fight.
I busied myself scanning the goodies. One item made me pause: a pair of leather bracers with small crystals set along the forearm. I lifted one and raised a brow at Mira.
"Those are Lightning Lash bracers," she explained. "They can discharge a short-range lightning arc. Father Aram only used them once, during a bad wolf spirit infestation."
Lightning, you say? I grinned. "Mind if I take these for a spin?"
She blinked. "Do you… know how to use mana tools?"
I strapped the bracers on over my sleeves, buckling them tight. They hummed softly as they attuned to my mana. "Oh, I'll manage," I said airily. In truth, I rarely got to play with neat artifacts like this, but I'd seen similar gear in action. A little jolt could complement my arsenal of rot rather nicely. Plus, flashy light show potential.
I nudged a thin thread of [hunt] into the metal, feeling around inside. Neat lines. Clean loops. The kind of handwriting that makes teachers cry from joy. I reached for the circuit to etch it into my own weave.
and ....Nothing.
"Huh."
The feeling was familiar in the wrong way. I read the circuit with [Hunt]. Then I traced it onto my own brain. Next, I tried to link the new weave to my native [Hunt] circuit...your usual procedure for [EchoPrint] technique I comprehended as a part of ability [Hunt].
The drawing part worked. Line by line, the bracer pattern sat in my brain like chalk on a board. The problem came next.
I reached for my natural circuit, and tried to connect the bracer path to it. And there was no click....it's like I was trying to press a square key into a round lock.
When I draw them from living things like the plague rat's [rot], the witch's [blink], their circuits have places my [hunt] can hook into. Its like [Hunt]'s circuit has open slots where they can be plugged.
The bracers weren't like that. For there kind of circuit.... umm has no open port on [Hunt]'s circuit?
I could run mana through them and use them like a normal person, sure, but thats about it. I can't say I am not disappointed. I was looking forward to using lighening.
The witch's bell ...hmmm... I guess it had worked because it was still… part living....? This was hardware. Stupid stubborn hardware.
So no bypassing limited charges by via [EchoPrint]. Noted. Limits, one, curse adjacent or dark leaning patterns hook easiest to Hunt's native circuit in my head, which is why Blink, printed off the witch's bell, kind of works. Two, anything above my rank hurts and drinks mana by the bucket, hello blink migraines packages with mana drain. Three, true artifact circuits do not integrate. I can wield them like normal people.
I let the [hunt] thread withdraw and flexed my fingers. the bracers gave a pleased little purr, like, go on, press me.
leo watched me over the rims of his glasses. he'd been quiet the whole time, which is how you know he was worried. "aren," he said, careful voice, "those have limited charges. please don't waste them… showing off."
I gasped in mock offense. "Who, me? I am the soul of frugality." To emphasize, I did not immediately zap anything, tempting as it was.
Leo snorted and turned back to the cabinet. He picked out the bronze maze amulet Mira had pointed out and handed it to her. "Keep this on you. If things breach the square tonight, it might buy you time."
Her eyes widened. "But you might need.."
"We've taken plenty," Leo assured. "This one's for you and the villagers."
Mira looked about to protest, then nodded and slipped the amulet's chain around her neck. "Thank you."
I slung an extra pouch of salt ash at my belt, alongside my rope zoo (which currently had two rats and one very annoyed toad, all firmly tied in place). My collection of creepy-crawlies was ready for action; I gave the pouch of ash a pat for good measure. "Alright. We've got gear, we've got intel. What are we missing?"
Ren spoke immediately. "The enemy's hiding place."
Right. We had not yet found where the necromancer or whatever agent of his was holed up. Boran was our best lead on that. But charging at him without proof felt wrong. I looked to Mira. "How far is the old battlefield? The Birchwood Ford."
She considered. "Just north of the village, about a quarter mile past the birch grove. The river's bend used to be a shallow crossing— that's likely the ford from the records."
Leo perked up. "We should check it for any lingering magic or passages. Perhaps there's a cave or ruins."
Ren was already stepping back outside. "We still have an hour of daylight. Let's go."