20demayo Chapter 219: Chapter XXIII: The Eternal Grind Continues
Chapter 219: Chapter XXIII: The Eternal Grind Continues
Chapter 219: Chapter XXIII: The Eternal Grind Continues
The surprise party at the Respite ended without anyone getting hurt, mortal or otherwise. The locals had some fun and everyone went on their merry way once the party died out and whoever caused the atmosphere finally left, which one was first no one will ever know.
Though Reyvin had a sinking feeling that this was not the last time this kind of thing would happen.
'Eh, a good old party never killed no one' He put it out of his mind and focused on what is truly important: The ever evolving march of the grind.
(Reyvin's POV)
Slowly and carefully I apply more and more pressure on the artificial bone in my hand, the force of my grip spreads across the whole thing almost perfectly while it bends only slightly allowing the force to dissipate further without compromising on its base integrity.
"Definitely slightly above baseline Imperial." I press a bit harder and push it even further until I foresee that any more would break it "Just above baseline Nord as well." I comment as Marwyn furiously scribbles down my words.
"As predicted." Phineas comments from his standing table "We could have pushed it further but the goal is to create a functional living body, not a combat... suit." He settled on the word, a hint of morbid amusement in his tone.
I let out a dry chuckle "I'd say that was disturbing but at this point, I've disassembled so many people myself that not looking at bodies like they are just meat bags would just end up with me becoming a monk."
Phineas cackles "Oh woe is us when Reyvin the Butcher realizes the weight of his sins."
I blink and point at him threateningly "I don't like you very much right now."
And of course, the only answer he has is another Skeletor-esque cackle.
"In any case." I say, pointedly staring at the lich "I believe our next goal should be the circulatory system."
"Naturally." Phineas half scoffs "We cannot even begin with the neural system without it so we must trudge through the ancient art of bloodworks."
"Speaking of blood." I cup my chin thoughtfully "I might be able to get us an ancient vampire to help with that one whenever she returns from her most recent excursion."
"Ohoho!" Phineas rubs his hands while Marwyn just sighs in silence "You did not inform me you have made such a... prestigious acquaintance." The lich seems almost offended at the fact.
I shrug "Eh, I've had other priorities but seeing her drain corpses into blood potions like it was a damn art tells me she could be useful for this so I remembered her."
"As if you are even capable of forgetting such things at this point." He outright scoffs this time.
"Remembering something and keeping it in mind are two very different things." I say with exasperation only to realize that the whole conversation was pointless "But you already knew that and are probably fucking with me right now."
"Oh don't be such a stick in the mud." The dead man rolls his inexistent eyes "The ladies won't appreciate you if you keep ruining everyone's fun."
A beat of silence passes "What would you know about ladies, Phineas?" I ask with a cruel smirk "After all, you don't even have the tools necessary to even consider the ladies."
He stops completely, slowly turning his head to me, and then to his apprentice, his bones creaking audibly "Marwyn." The lich says with immense gravitas.
"Sir?" The Breton gulps.
"Fetch me my tomes." Phineas commands.
Marwyn scratches the back of his head "Um... which ones?"
"All of them!" His undead master snarls.
"I will leave you to it then." I cackle and skedaddle out of there as Phineas starts throwing curses, verbal not magical I feel I need to point out, at me at increasingly worrying speeds.
"You need another number three in between the fourteen and sixteen to properly support the movement." I absentmindedly tell my Retainer as I focus on disassembling Mzark's puzzle
box.
Edrassa stops tinkering with the spiders as does her assistant.
One of the guards showed a surprising affinity for dwemertech and I've since had him following Edrassa about when she does her own research or I give her a quick lesson. The young Mer could perform quality maintenance on spiders and spheres after only a couple weeks of tutelage so he was definitely going places some day.
"Reyvin." He nods with a smirk, already predicting my request.
"Up for a bout?" I flick my blunted sword at him.
His grin widens as he grabs a practice mace from a nearby rack "I'd thought you'd never ask."
We then proceeded to bas each other into near unconsciousness for an entire hour before we were forced apart by a mildly disturbed Davos. I did manage to convince Tolfdir's descendant to visit more often so that we could train with our full power, he was almost giddy when I
asked in fact.
[Swordsmanship: Adept => Expert]
[Dagger Wielding: Apprentice => Adept]
"You are surprisingly good at this." Davos mutters almost inaudibly as we sneak by a guard
patrol marching through Winterhold's less wealthy quarters.
We stop sneaking about and stand behind a hidden nook just in time for me to give him a
glacially cold deadpan look.
He blinks "Right... patron."
"For someone so competent you can be a downright idiot sometimes Davos." I comment,
though there is no real heat or judgement in my voice.
"What is going on over there?" A voice interrupts our conversation and we are soon met with
a group of five or so guardsmen.
Both of us send a glance to the other before swiftly bolting it out of there, leading the poor guardsmen on a wild goose chase through the poorer sections of the city before loosing them fully in the sprawl of poorly repaired homes and houses.
"I'd say you would pass as an experienced recruit in the guild." Davos grades my
performance.
I shrug "Eh, I prefer blowing my problems up to sneaking around them."
"Can't argue with that." He chuckles somewhat awkwardly. "Want to try and sneak into the college?" I ask, only half joking.
The paleness of his face makes me break out into laughter.
[Sneak: Apprentice => Adept]
Ah, the sweet smell of progress!
Some grind for stats
I grind for stones
We are not the same.
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