Tristan

Tristan: I promise I'll be careful. Wish me luck.

He'd sent the message through their Permanent Party mostly to try and ease any anxieties Sophie might feel from his sudden action, but he simply couldn't let this kind of opportunity slip away. Yes, there was someone else with Timetwister. Yes, she was apparently a servant of the goddess Plenty. Yes, Tristan had no idea what that might mean.

But even with all of that being true, he had to do something. He had to see this Timetwister for himself.

So he slipped up to the door as quietly as a mouse, and tried to turn the knob to go inside.

It was locked.

Of course it was locked. He tried turning it again, just to be sure, but to the same result.

Sophie: Need help? Tristan: It's just... locked. So maybe? Sophie: Well, yeah. Did you think they'd be foolish enough to leave it wide open for anyone to wander in? Tristan: Maybe they have nothing to hide. Sophie: Yes, that's clearly the case here.

She walked over calmly, a slight smile on her face even as she shook her head at him. Then, out of her hair, she pulled two pins that Tristan couldn't recall ever seeing before. Though maybe that's the point, he realized.

After a few smooth motions, there was a barely audible click! as the doorknob turned. Tristan was at once thankful both for Sophie's clear skill in lockpicking and that the door made practically no sound at all as it opened.

Sophie: So are we both going in now? Tristan: Sorry, but I still think it's better for me to go alone. Sophie: Just thought I'd check. Don't forget that it's not just Timetwister in there. There is at least one other person who would immediately realize you're trespassing.

She raised a good point, and a sudden worry made him send another message.

Tristan: Do you know what tier that other person is? Sophie: No. They're both above me. I could only see their titles.

Of course Tristan knew that Sophie hadn't upgraded her [Identify] like he had. She, like most people of the realm, couldn't see the information of anyone above her tier.

Tristan: What about the potion? Sophie: Are you sure we want to burn it now? It only lasts 5 minutes, and I'm pretty sure we aren't going to just attack her now with her friend around. Tristan: Better to know what we're up against, right? Then we can plan for it. Sophie: Fair point. Okay then. For this to work, I'm going to have to see her, so I'll be using Sneakers's eyes.

Tristan quickly put a hand on her wrist, stopping her from raising the vial to her lips.

Tristan: Wait. If you drink the potion, will it still work for you if you're seeing through Sneakers's eyes? Or should he drink it? Sophie: I... don't know. Our connection is more magical than anything. I assume if I drink it it's function will still remain. Tristan: And you're willing to risk it? Sophie: Well I'm certainly not going in there myself! Tristan: Why not just call him back and let him drink it? Sophie: I suppose that is more sensible.

Tristan released her hand.

Sophie: Okay, he should arrive shortly. But then I'm really going to give him the potion. Are we agreed? Tristan: Yeah. Sophie: Great, then give me a second.

Tristan watched the fluidity of the astralist's movements as she embraced her bird-like scout, smiled down at him, and poured the [Potion of True Discernment] into his beak. That the tiny vial had cost her a small fortune wasn't lost on Tristan. But the moment the liquid vanished down Sneakers's gullet, Sophie released him, and off he flew again.

Sophie: Alright, just waiting for him to see her again. Then I'll share his eyes. Tristan: I always feel like waiting is the hardest part. Sophie: It absolutely can be, especially when buffs are ticking.

A moment later, Sophie squeezed his hand.

Sophie: Okay, he's back in position. Here we go.

Just as before, the astralist's eyes turned white, and Tristan returned a faint squeeze of her hand.

"Good gods, Tristan, they're actually both tier 4. And Timetwister is the weaker of the two at level 42. The gnome, Charlotte, the {Mistress of Plenty}, is level 66!"

Wonderful, Tristan thought, but what he whispered was, "Even more reason not to pick this fight today."

"Yeah, good. I've got no interest in trying to fight against that kind of power discrepancy. Though I am a bit curious what exactly a shady dealer Class does."

Tristan wanted to say, 'Other than sound cool?', but it didn't feel like the time for joking. "So let's do everything we can to avoid Charlotte," he said. "What more can you see about Timetwister?"

Sophie inhaled sharply. "For one thing, I've never seen so many buffs on someone before."

"Which buffs?" Tristan asked. "Or what kinds of buffs are they?"

"There are two big versions of the basic stat boosts for Intelligence and Willpower."

Tristan wasn't surprised by that, as he recalled Sophie saying those were included in almost every time mage build.

"She's also got three different kinds of shields up at once! I'd say that can't be right, but I'm literally seeing it right now with, well, Sneakers's eyes!"

Tristan knew that shield spells tended to be powerful, but one of their weaknesses was to dispelling. They were a riskier type of 'heal' because they usually didn't actually return any hit points. They just preserved them. So if I can dispel those shields with this new sword, maybe she'll be squishy enough to handle.

"But there's something else here that I've never seen or heard of before," Sophie continued quietly. "It must be a high-tier buff. Or maybe it's an original skill? I did a lot of reading, but... I'm pretty sure I never read about anything like this. It's not a shield. It's called [Emergency Rewind]? Its description doesn't actually expand fully. It's partially hidden!"

"What? How is that possible?"

"It must be blocked somehow."

"And how is that possible?" Tristan asked again.

Sophie's voice rose slightly above her whisper, letting her agitation show. "I don't know, Tristan! I'm learning all this as I go along. Maybe the potion doesn't interface perfectly with all buffs, or just higher level buffs? I just don't know!"

More questions without answers, he thought. "Anything else?"

Sophie's eyes reverted to their normal color and met his. "Was that not enough?" She seemed to wait, perhaps thinking his determination would waver somewhat, but it didn't. "You're still going in, aren't you?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"You need to proceed with extreme caution."

Tristan smiled at her, then switched back to their party chat, now that she had stopped using [Astral Sight].

Tristan: Thanks Sophie. Be back soon. Sophie: You'd better. We'll stay hidden out here and warn you if anyone else approaches. Be careful. Tristan: Right back at you.

As he quietly shut the door behind him, once again impressed with how silently it moved, Tristan initially debated whether or not he should withdraw the [Silencing Shortsword]. He ended up leaving it in storage though, as bringing it out felt like starting down the road toward a fight, and that wasn't his goal here. This was a recon mission, and his objective was to get in, learn as much as he could about Timetwister, and then get out totally unseen.

Luckily, there was no shortage of boxes to hide behind within this warehouse. He wasn't sure what they held, as none of them bore any markings at all, but several stacks went almost all the way to the lofty ceiling. He had a feeling that trying to pry into one would prove too noisy with his current skill set. Instead, he used them as cover and crept closer to where the muffled voices he heard seemed to be coming from.

As he drew closer, he was able to make out more of what was being said.

"Tomorrow's shipment should be about a quarter larger than usual," a decidedly female voice said. "Production is looking better by the day."

"That's good to hear," another woman responded, though her voice was much more floaty, less severe. "I'm ready to get moving. When do your projections suggest we'll have made enough?"

"For Brightside? Hah! Probably never. But we are surpassing his weekly quota now, and if this new rate continues, we may even get two shipments out this week."

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There was an exasperated sigh. "Then maybe I'll finally be able to get out of here."

"I've really appreciated you using your skills to hurry production along..." the first woman said.

"You're welcome. But realize that time magic, like all magic, has its limits," the second replied, and the way she said it made her sound so tired that Tristan was certain that this was Timetwister.

He checked his quest anyway, and the arrow pointed directly to where the voice had originated.

She's only a few dozen paces away, he realized. It's unlucky that the other person is here. I wonder who she is.

"I just want you to know how much I appreciate your contributions," the other woman responded.

He crept closer to the edge of the boxes and slowly began to move his head to see beyond them.

"Thank you for that, Charlotte. It's nothing against the pleasant company, but I would like to conclude this business quickly. I... received word back from Venom. Or, I should rather say, about him."

For a moment, Tristan froze. He even held his breath, though that was silly. He wasn't close enough for that to be necessary.

She was still in contact with Venom? It was a definite strike against her in his book.

Tristan moved just enough to finally be able to see a bit of the two speakers, though it was only really the back of what looked to be the purple-haired gnome's head. It was still enough to use [Identify] on her.

[Charlotte, Gnome, level 66 (tier 4) shady dealer] {{Mistress of Plenty}}

Tristan inhaled sharply. Just as Sophie had said, the gnome was another tier 4, and so much higher level it felt nearly absurd. Level 66. How in the world was he supposed to deal with someone like that? The only answer was that he couldn't. Her presence alone basically guaranteed that he'd have to wait until either Timetwister or she left before he could try anything.

The gnomish woman twisted slightly and spat. "Oh? Do I hear a part tense in that bastard's case? Please tell me he's dead."

"He is," Timetwister responded quietly.

"Good riddance. He was disgusting." The gnome moved out of the way, but also out of Tristan's sightline.

"He was on a strange and uncommon Path, certainly," Timetwister replied, "but he was also one of my former teammates, and he helped me quite a bit. Regardless of how you might feel about his choices, I'd rather not disparage the dead."

With only a few small adjustments, Tristan was able to get a better look at the time mage and use [Identify] on her, too.

[Timetwister, Human, level 42 (tier 4) insightful seer] {{Legendslayer}}

Seeing the title burned him more than he'd thought. It was only the second time he'd seen it, after all. Once on Shadow, and now Timetwister, since Venom had chosen not to wear it. Tristan's lip curled at the thought of the {Defiler}.

"Fair, fair," the gnome replied, moving back into view. She waved her hand, and a stack of crates behind her vanished, one by one. "But I'm still not sorry for your loss."

"I understand. He wasn't well liked by many. But his death is--"

"A blessing?"

"--Suspicious," Timetwister finished. "From the report, it sounded like someone had tracked him down specifically."

The purple-haired woman scoffed. "Surprised it took so long. Some new hero trying to make a name for herself, no doubt."

"I... don't think so. When paired with everything our mutual friend has been doing lately--"

Charlotte shrugged. "He's been bothersome, sure, but... Are you thinking of getting out?"

"I am, and you should, too."

"That is not going to happen," Charlotte said with a laugh. "My progress has been way too good to just stop. With every delivery to Brightside and Chrisopher, it's like I'm sprinting toward the next tier instead of slowly crawling. And with what you and I are going to deliver next time, we should both reap some serious rewards!"

"Again, I am not so sure of that," Timetwister said. "Our friend is still at large--"

"Shadow. Just say his name. He won't hear it."

"You don't know that."

"Bah," Charlotte said, though she did seem to straighten up slightly and check over her shoulder. Luckily, she didn't look in Tristan's direction. He also couldn't help but notice that the gnome didn't immediately repeat the half-elf's name. "Look, no matter what he might attempt to do with that item, I doubt it'll affect us. He didn't even stop you from getting into the vault!"

"Which is why I believe that clearly was not his goal," Timetwister said, stepping away from her friend with a very distressed look on her face. "While we may not know yet what he was doing there, my goddess has warned me to stay away from him all the same."

Charlotte walked over to another stack of crates, which also disappeared one after another, doubtlessly into her magical storage. "We just need to think of this objectively, alright? The item he stole from us was mass-produced, and it can't be traced back to us. Maybe if he showed it to The Sovereign, it would condemn us, but we both know he's not going to deal with a god if he doesn't have to. Weren't you the one who told me how much he hated gods?"

Timetwister sighed. "Yes, but it's because I know him that I'm still so concerned. He's going to continue to be an issue in the future."

"My only interaction with him was when he ran out on this joint effort."

"And for that, he may have been the wisest of us all. I do not like the feelings I've been getting lately. Something is coming, and it feels big. Big enough to shake the Realm."

Charlotte moved closer to where Tristan was hiding, and another stack of boxes gradually disappeared. "Is that a prediction?"

"No, you know I don't have that level of gift. Even my patron has but limited foresight."

"If you say so," Charlotte replied. "I don't know The End, but I know you. I tend to trust your instincts."

"And I trust my patron's," Timetwister said defensively. "Since she's still worried, shouldn't we both be?" Timetwister paced over to where Charlotte was now standing, which put them both just out of Tristan's view. "I have been thinking about this for some time now. It was not an impulsive decision. But I am leaving. Please, come with me."

Tristan couldn't help but wonder what Shadow had done to spook the woman so much. What exactly had the enlightened bladeweaver gotten his hands on now, and what was he planning to do with it?

A series of messages appeared through party chat.

Sophie: Tristan, you've got to move, quickly! Sophie: She's storing the boxes! Sophie: She's going to find you!!

They came in rapidly, and he didn't quite understand what she meant, until another stack of boxes began to disappear. They'd been so close he might have reached out and touched them.

"I'll... think it over," Charlotte said, stepping forward again.

Tristan barely slid himself backward in time as the next crates--the ones that moments ago had been right in front of him--vanished.

Oh shit, oh shit! he thought, trying to scramble backward as quickly and silently as possible. While Timetwister wouldn't be able to see him thanks to his [Avenger's Stealth] buff, Charlotte would have no such issue.

"That is all I ask, for now," Timetwister replied quietly. "I can't be a part of this any more."

The next stack of crates, which Tristan had just taken shelter behind, also began to disappear, and once again Tristan was faced with the very real possibility of being discovered by two tier 4s. He doubted very sincerely that they would appreciate his snooping. It was time to get out, now.

Sophie: Tristan, are you moving? I can't use party chat and [Astral Sight] at the same time! Tristan: Yes! I'm trying!

He wanted to sync his backward movements to whenever one of the two women was talking, but that was still tricky. Moving backward silently wasn't an easy feat for him, especially not in his current boots, which tended to squeak or creak at seemingly random times. Each time they made such a sound, he went absolutely still. His most desperate hope was that neither of the tier 4s would pay it any mind.

As a result, Tristan wasn't really listening to what they were saying at all anymore. Only that they were talking mattered. The more they talked, the more he felt like he had enough cover to move. Whether one or two steps at a time, swiftly and softly and silently he went, always sticking to the shadows between the remaining stacks of crates and the wall. He still wasn't sure he'd be safe if Charlotte picked up her pace in storing the crates.

How do I get out of here? What else can I do?

Except he realized that it didn't have to necessarily be something he did. He wasn't alone in this situation!

Tristan: Sophie, can you or Sneakers cause a distraction? It doesn't have to be big, but anything at all could help here. Sophie: Maybe? They're tier 4s. I don't want to risk Sneakers if I don't have to. Tristan: Just something to get their attention for five or ten seconds, and preferably move them away from the door.

There was a probably-brief pause that seemed to take forever to Tristan, but then Sophie replied.

Sophie: I think we have a plan. Can you give us a minute?

Tristan wasn't sure he had that long. There were only three more stacks of crates remaining in the row against the wall.

Tristan: A full minute? Sophie: Half a minute. Tristan: OK, but sooner is better.

When she didn't reply, Tristan assumed it was because she was already working on something. Or rather, he hoped that was why. He had backed himself up behind the final crates, only a handful of paces from exit. All he needed was a few seconds of distraction.

He waited, silent as a mouse, and listened to the pair.

"I'm still going to deliver this batch myself," Charlotte was saying.

"You know where I'll be if you choose to make it your last," Timetwister responded. "There's more to this plan than he's telling us, and I get the distinct impression that he's positioning himself for a push."

"To divinity?" Charlotte sounded skeptical. "Is he even at the peak of tier 5 yet?"

Timetwister's response was somber. "It bothers me that you don't know, yet you're working for him. Whatever happened to the little gnome who didn't trust anyone?"

"She got power-leveled."

"You're one of the lucky ones."

Charlotte scoffed. "Nothing lucky about it. We've both worked hard on this. That's why I'm sure we'll both be rewarded for it. I know you weren't always comfortable with helping, but decisions had to be made. I still say we're on the right side of this."

"I wish I shared your confidence," Timetwister answered.

"What are you talking about? You shouldn't feel guilty now! You killed the blessed Brightshield without concern. Why are you worried about a village of tier 1s and 2s? I'd trade them in for our own health any day! Just remember how many of his employees have gone 'missing' after failing a single--"

The shady dealer's words were cut off as a sharp crashing sound came from one of the upper windows, and an object wrapped in fire plummeted toward the floor.

"Stop it!" Charlotte called out, her voice already seeming to come from farther away. "Don't let it hit a crate!"

"I'll slow it for you!" the time mage replied.

Tristan didn't wait another second before dashing toward the door. Behind him, he could hear that the two women were still dealing with whatever Sophie or Sneakers had sent in. He assumed it wouldn't have been the astral himself. No way would Sophie have allowed it.

One hand hit the door, and he just got it open before he heard, "Lock it down! This feels like a breach!"

He was almost entirely through the doorway, too, before it felt like space itself solidified around his ankle--and in fact everything below his knee that was still inside the warehouse.

He tugged. His leg moved only the slightest bit. He twisted, and his leg moved a little more. Now it was truly just his ankle and foot. The rest of his body was outside, lying on the pavers. He tried using the door itself to gain some sort of leverage, and somehow it worked! The moment he was able to pull his foot entirely free of the doorway, he felt as light as a feather again. Whatever zone or barrier had stopped him clearly ended there.

As he pushed the door closed once more, he scrambled to his feet and began running. He'd made it out--barely--but he could still be spotted as he ran away if he wasn't fast enough.

They nearly caught me, he thought, gasping. Is that what a time magic trap feels like?! If I hadn't been almost entirely out the door--! How am I supposed to kill someone who can freeze entire spaces like that?

Those questions and more began to burn through his mind as he ran. He and Sophie definitely had more planning to do.

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