Chapter Text
Moving around in Wistram was difficult.
Threat Sense was every bit the cheat that it always had been. Now that I'd enhanced it by sacrificing a [Skill], it was even better. At least, it had improved by allowing me to sense when a spell would hurt me, or when a spell would 'see' me. Possibly some [Skills] too, or even anything that used 'mana'.
It was hard to test empirically when I neither wanted to be noticed nor cared to confide in any third parties.
Regardless, it made me more confident in exploring the school for [Mages]. I had other options as well. I had plenty of silicone to enable modifying my form. Even if that ran out, I could make a Tinker-tech equivalent, but that would take time. Additionally, I had my drones, cameras, and stealth-suit.
None of them were flawless, but even being 'sort-of' invisible had its uses.
The problem was mana, or the lack of it. Unlike my base Perk, the enchanted aspect of Threat Sense was only active if I provided it mana. To get mana, I had to rely on my [Ambient Mana Gatherer] skill.
...And it was so slow! But, I might just be spoiled by how quickly my MP restored itself.
Experimentation had shown that the rate of mana I gained was entirely dependent on my location. I'd gotten virtually zero mana restored while I was at sea, but Wistram increased the restoration rate to about ten per hour. Considering I had a maximum of thirty-one mana, that wasn't bad - except that Threat Sense cost one mana for every minute I kept it active.
So far, at least. No telling if that rate would remain constant if it was under heavy use - like if I was in a fight.
Thus, I'd been forced to limit my nighttime excursions to half an hour, which wasn't nearly enough time to accomplish anything of note. Sure, I had a growing network of spy cameras that allowed me to teleport within an ever increasing radius. I'd also planted the seed of another base, but that was on the ocean floor. As far as I could tell, no one would notice it there. When it finished growing, I could use Teleportation to access it. That would be fine for me, but not as helpful for any refugees from Earth.
Ideally, I would be able to make my own room somewhere in Wistram that Earthlings could stay in. However, such a feat was currently beyond me. Perhaps once I'd sacrificed more [Skills] to empower my Crafting Perk, but that wasn't cost-efficient. It had seemed like the perfect Perk to enhance. Why worry about magic, when I could make my own magical gear?
And it had worked too. My newly-made Mega-Buster was now 'magical'.
...But there was a limit. Every [Skill] sacrificed either expanded the amount of mana I could personally store, or increased the amount of mana a Perk could use. I'd burned three to raise my maximum capacity by thirty: [Basic Repair], [Clean Materials], and [Basic Aiming]. [Alchemy: Corrosive Substances] had gone to enable mana to be used with Crafting. The issue was that after creating my Mega-Buster I couldn't use mana to Craft anything else.
Well, that one of the issues. The other was that my Mega-Buster was now... acidic in a way I didn't fully understand. It made me think that I had been a bit hasty in sacrificing [Skills]. [Armed At All Times] would've probably had some sort of synergy if I'd sacrificed it for Inventory instead of for Power Drain.
I hoped that the 'Crafting mana' was just 'locked' and that I would regain access to it if my weapon was destroyed, but that wasn't something I planned on testing. At least it hadn't reduced my main mana pool. That had restored itself as normal after I'd finished.
Moving around tonight was going to be more difficult than normal. The golems were out in force, and they were looking for me.
They didn't know they were looking for me. Instead they were looking for the person that had 'killed' one of them.
I hadn't meant to, but I also hadn't concerned myself with my experimental subject's well-being. As far as I could tell, only one golem was sapient, so the rest were disposable. Cognita apparently felt differently.
At least I'd gained several benefits. First, I'd learned that sacrificing [Armed At All Times] to empowered Power Drain did indeed allow it to drain mana - albeit at an agonizingly slow rate. Second, golems have a core that animates them. Third, that core requires a minimum amount of mana, and it was a delicate part. Draining it could have unforeseen detrimental effects. Forth, gaining mana over my maximum resulted in some nasty debuffs. Debuffs that grew over time and stacked. They'd only stopped being added once I used up the excessive mana. Fifth, when the debuffs finally faded completely, something that took time, my maximum mana had been increased.
That was both good to know, and exploitable if I could find something to drain without causing undue harm.
Today he was Galei the Centaur.
His contacts had gotten back to him quickly. There was no way for them to confirm what did or did not happen inside of an unknown bear cave, or what had occurred to an unknown group of [Bandits]. At least not without having a man on the inside, but the Ullsinoi rarely did that. Also, when they did, they didn't bother with such small and insignificant groups.
Others, like the Circle, were another matter.
Even if he had the desire to have [Infiltrators] join every band of ne'er-do-wells, he wasn't made of money.
At least it hadn't been a total waste. Jiahao's tale was common knowledge in a small Terandria village. That was, no doubt, due to Pixel's presence. The [Superhero]'s description matched what Vincent had said - a man wearing a suit of armor composed entirely of cubes.
He had also been accompanied by a black teenager and a giant of a man. That, he supposed, alongside Blackmage's endorsement, was sufficient confirmation.
The more interesting news was out of Noelictus. His opener contact there was paid to copy and forward him important or interesting news, and Ailendamus' invasion definitely counted as both. That country was growing far too bold, and had secrets aplenty. Most of the Ullsinoi agreed that something needed to be done, they just differed on what exactly.
Ailendamus' actions while troubling, weren't the most important news. Noelictus was always... perilous. He'd never been, but it sounded a little like Wistram - what with the wandering undead and all. So it wasn't THAT surprising to hear about a rogue [Necromancer] and his undead horde. What WAS interesting were the accounts of how it had been wiped off the face of the world.
The details were sketchy, but numerous witnesses claimed to have seen an angular humanoid flying around.
As for Ailendamus' army? That was much clearer. The Hunter's Guild had seen a gigantic figure made of cubes confront the other nation's army before unleashing potent light magic and driving them off.
Gailei raised an eyebrow at the [Message]. He didn't discount anything, but there had to be more to the story than an iron wall and some destroyed Greatbows. Well, all's well that ends well he supposed. He was unlikely to get a clearer picture. He wasn't a [Spy Master]. Pulling up details or establishing timelines was more effort than he cared to give.
Especially since Wistram was generally so much more entertaining.
The golems were out in force today and truth stones were being used even more liberally than normal. Whomever had experimented on a golem had gone too far, but there were no leads that he knew of.
Speaking of truth stones, he should see what Michail was doing. Feor was getting his robes all twisted up over maintaining the secret of the Earthers, and the duel this morning certainly hadn't helped things
...
He tracked the 'Russian' down to another library, where his minder was busy dabbing his leg with a potion. The body of a crushed, dog-sized silverfish lay to the side. Yellow and silver stains were on the bottom of Michail's discarded boot.
That told a humorous, if not uncommon tale. The insects were real pests even at the best of times. At least the bleeding hadn't been that bad judging by the size of the blood stains on the large man's calves.
"Slacking off Breska?" Gailei smiled at him as he cantered over.
The half-elf looked around suspiciously for any other hidden Ullsinoi. "What do you want?"
"Me? I just came to see how the translation amulet is working. Gailei raised his arms to his side and shook his head. "I am simply flabbergasted to see that your ward has been injured. Do you perhaps need assistance in protecting him from over-grown bugs?"
"i am fine. the silver insect barely punctured my skin." It was interesting to see Michail's lips move out of sync with his words. "i told breska that i did not need potion. it is wasteful to use it up on such a minor wound."
"Shut up. It's the least I can do after..." Breska glowered. "It's all those golems fault. Moving around in groups and ignoring their other duties. I bet it was one of them that carried it in here."
"nonsense. the fault is mine. i should have moved quicker, but i was surprised when detect ambush skill activated." The large man peered at his leg before nodding and using his sleeve to wipe away the blood. "see? all is good."
"Oh?" Gailei's eyes twinkled. "Did your charge get wounded protecting you?" THAT was a good secret. It also was a nicely ironic prank... too bad he hadn't thought about it. It would be difficult to pull something like that off responsibly. You could never tell with an injury. A potion to an infected wound would kill the patient just as surely, but far slower and drawn out.
Michail's skin seemed fine, so there probably was no risk of that happening.
"Anyways." Breska stoppered his bottle and stowed it away in a pocket. "As you can hear, the amulet is working just fine. We have no need for your company."
"Can't a fellow chat with friends?" Gailei looked at Michail. "How are things going, Builder?"
"i am well. there are many, many books to read. i do not think i will ever get through them all." Michail smiled as he pulled on his boot. "the food is nice too."
"Yes, yes." Breska interposed himself. "Builder is a simple man with simple pleasures. Please leave him and me alone, Gailei."
The centaur rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll leave you two love-birds alone."
"What?" Breska sputtered at the retreating form, to shocked to notice that it was an illusion.
Gailei stood invisibly to the side and contemplated the situation. His truth spell was still giving odd signals from Michail, but what could he possibly have lied about? The incident clearly wasn't his fault, so claiming it was wasn't truth - but it was a social nicety. Truth spells detected intent, and unless he was trying to make people think he was gracious when he wasn't...
No. That level of deception wouldn't trigger the spell.
'He should have moved quicker.' True.
'He was surprised when his [Skill] activated.' That could be a lie. Again, why lie about being surprised? And if he did, it was another social one.
'He was fine." Well, that was objectively true, as his leg had been healed.
No, something was going on, and Gailei thought he knew what it was. [Appraisal] listed Michail as a [Builder], and now a [Reader]. Which one of those would grant... what was it? [Spot Ambush]? [Notice Ambush]? [Detect Ambush]?
Not that skills always lined up with a [Class]. Michail had been with a group of [Bandits] when Pixel and Vincent had rescued him. So it was possible that he'd gotten the skill after noticing the [Bandits] about to ambush him in the past.
Or...
Michail could have another class that [Appraisal] was missing. It wasn't a common effect where the spell or [Skill] was blocked, but there were more advanced ones that selectively hid [Classes]. The same thing applied to lying [Skills]. Those could fool basic truth abilities.
But how high level would you need to be to have them? The Earthers were leveling surprisingly quickly, but that still seemed far fetched.
Just what was Michail hiding?
Montressa du Valeross, or 'Mon' to her friend, made her way back to her room. It had been a busy day. To be honest, most days were busy to a secret broker, but today was busier than normal. Interest in the high table secrets was at an all-time premium.
The rumors around Blackmage had died down after a while. Gossip tended to not last long in Wistram's secret-based economy. Un-verified gossip that was. People liked to speculate. To take small secrets and combine them.
'There's a new student at the high table.'
'The new student's name is Blackmage.'
'Blackmage isn't his real name.'
'Blackmage gets private lessons from Archmage Feor.'
'Blackmage speaks with the counsel.'
'Blackmage has never gone to a normal class.'
'Blackmage is an [Engineer].'
The combined results like 'Blackmage has a special magic.' or 'No one saw Blackmage arrive by boat.' couldn't gain traction because they couldn't pass a truth stone. Sure, it was a likely enough conclusion, but it wasn't a secret. Besides, a secret couldn't be a negative. How could a person speak the truth about 'no one' seeing something?
Anyways, Montressa had collected the secrets. She'd paid for them, and then sold them to others. Blackmage was visible enough that the quality of the secrets around him degraded quickly. Medium to small. Small to ubiquitous.
Some of them, like 'Blackmage gets private lessons from Archmage Feor.' still carried some weight, but even then it wasn't much. The latest thing had come and gone, replaced with more recent secrets such as the King of Destruction or Amerys.
That all changed when three new people arrived at the high table just as suddenly and without explanation. Montressa sought out the secrets from the rumors.
'The other black one's name is Boxer'. True.
'The large one's name is Builder.' True.
'The small one's name is Gamer.' True.
'Boxer runs along the beach in the morning.' True.
'Builder is from Golaen.' False. It was certainly likely, but no proof = no secret.
'Gamer is from Drath.' False. No proof.
'Boxer is a [Boxer].' True. Appraisal spells could tell that much, but it was higher magic than more students knew. That was why Blackmage's [Engineer] secret was still a valuable commodity.
'Builder is a [Builder] and a [Reader].' True.
'Gamer is a [Gamer].' True. No one knew what the [Gamer] class was.
'Boxer, Builder, and Gamer aren't their real names.' True, but obvious. Montressa wouldn't count such a basic observation as a secret.
And finally: '[Boxer] is an advanced form of [Fist Fighter].' True.
That should've been a much more valuable secret, but it had been demonstrated to so many students in the most obvious way possible that it was virtually worthless.
At least until the new crop of students showed up in a few months.
Montressa smiled to herself. It had been nice to see Charles get beat up and humiliated like that. The man was all of the worst stereotypes about Terandrians combined. Plus, they were enemies due to their respective families. That could've changed over the years if Charles wasn't so... Charles.
Plus, there was no chance of anyone who associated with non-humans getting along with him. Montressa had Beatrice as her best friend, and that was that. So Charles losing to a non-magic user was hilarious. Boxer didn't even seem to have gained a single level in [Mage] yet, much less consolidated his class to one that used magic.
Charles was never going to live it down, and he'd lost the stupid sword and annoying bell.
Montressa shuddered as she thought back on who'd originally owned that rapier. Thinking about him made her think about that...
The clawing hands...
The blank eyes...
The empty sockets...
Calvaron's defiant roar...
His brave charge...
His death...
Montressa shook her head violently. Her long red tresses flew about as she resolutely refused to re-live those memories. No. Never again. She wasn't the weak, naive girl she'd been. She hadn't felt so helpless in years, but seeing HIS rapier used in a fight inside the great hall. In the same spot Calvaron had died...
It didn't matter if the sword hadn't actually been there at the time. It didn't matter if he'd already sold it. It was a symbol of him. Something every bit as fundamental as the undead that had swarmed them.
She took a deep breath as her fingers clutched her staff so hard they turned white.
She wouldn't let herself panic and freeze. She would...
She would...
"Excuse me." Someone was in the hall she'd just turned into. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Boxer was leaning against the bricks with his arms crossed. One of his hands held the rapier and its sheath.
Montressa narrowed her eyes. "You can ask. I might even answer, if you can pay."
The teenager nodded. "Fair enough. You're a secret broker, right? You buy and sell secrets."
"That's right." Montressa fingered her staff. She wasn't afraid, people came to trade secrets in private all the time. Still... it was best to be prepared. "What do you want to know?" She tilted her head. "And how'd you give your friend the slip?"
Boxer smirked. "That's a secret, right? I could tell you in exchange for what you know about this." He held up the sword.
"Hmpf." Montressa crossed her arms and sniffed. "That's not a good trade. It's hardly a secret that you lot have your minders." Bodyguards. Escorts. Whatever you wanted to call them. "You'll have to offer me more." Although, there was a fair chance that it was a decent secret. If Boxer had found a secret passageway that no one else knew about or something, it would be valuable - as unlikely as that was.
"Hmmmm..." Boxer hummed as he looked over the sword. "You said this thing was cursed, and I don't think you were lying." He unsheathed an inch of the blade. "I'm no expert, but I can say with one hundred percent certainty that this sword has no magic." He slipped the rapier back inside. "So, it's either something special, or it's this thing's history. Either way, I'm curious."
"You're fishing." Montressa smiled. "I don't give away information for free though." Aside from warning him in the first place. That was then, and this was now. If he wanted details, he'd have to pay. "You need to sweeten your offer. Other secrets, gold, or something else." She paused. "But not the sword. I don't want it."
Boxer nodded. "I do have other secrets, but I think the reverse applies. They are worth a lot more than the history of this thing." He glanced at the sword. "In fact, I think they're so valuable, you wouldn't be able to find a buyer that would give you a fair price."
"Oh?" Montressa's eyes gleamed. "I'm a broker. I'm fine with sitting on secrets until someone meets my price." A boast and a threat. She'd underestimated Boxer's intelligence before, as he wasn't a magic user... possibly.
"Okay. Fine." Boxer jerked his head. "Let's go somewhere more secure."
"Hold up." Montressa raised her hand before reaching into a pocket. "Let's just verify some things before we waste my time." She pulled out a stone. "Do you intend to harm me in any way?" She didn't think so, but better safe than sorry - especially when following someone to an unknown location.
Boxer crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "No." The stone glowed red. He blinked. "Hey! I'm tellin' the truth!"
"I know." Montressa smirked. Calvaron's truth stone was enchanted to glow red when someone spoke the truth, and blue when they lied. It helped throw people off, especially when she swapped it with her other stone. "Let's try that again." She put her hand back in her pocket and withdrew the same stone. "Do you have a secret that's so valuable I won't be able to sell it?"
"Yes." The stone glowed red. True. Or at least Boxer believed it to be true. She couldn't say how valuable his secret actually was without hearing it first.
Montressa put her hand in her pocket again before pulling her other stone out. "Will knowing this secret put me in any kind of danger?"
"No." The stone glowed blue. "I mean, it might in the future, but I don't see how it would right now." The stone glowed blue. "Hey, what gives?"
"That's a secret." Montressa slipped the stone back into her pocket, and then into the inner lining so she could keep them separate. "It'll cost you to find out."
"Whatever." Boxer rolled his eyes. "We good? You comin' with me?"
"Sure." Montressa motioned. "Lead the way."
Boxer nodded his head and turned around before walking silently down the hallway. At the corner, he paused. Boxer held a finger to his lips. After about ten seconds he jerked his head, and they continued. He continued doing that. Sometimes he'd increase his pace. Other times, he'd duck into a side room and wait. Montressa thought he was being paranoid, until she realized the truth.
They hadn't seen a single other person or golem the entire time.
Somehow Boxer was guiding them through the halls of Wistram undetected... without relying on magic!
Montressa's opinion of him rose a few notches. Whomever he was, Boxer was obviously high-level. She hadn't even realized that [Boxer] was a [Rogue] class, but that made a strange amount of sense. Sneaky [Classes] liked being sneaky - even with their names. Was he a [Rogue] that had spent time at a dock working with boxes? Or on a ship?
One more secret to add to the list alongside his [Skills], but it would be an expensive one.
Following a [Boxer] somewhere might not have been the best idea. If he hadn't been so clearly flustered by her truth stone swapping, she might've been having second thoughts.
They soon arrived in a old classroom that looked like it hadn't been used in years. Pillars appeared in the corners, and a shimmering field flickered into existence across the doorway.
"Greetings, and well met, Montressa du Valeross." A golem made of cubes emerged from the shadows... or it had teleported in, or it had been invisible. "I'm Pixel. I wish you a good morrow, and am glad you accepted my invitation."
Well... at least it was well spoken.
Cognita stalked the hallways. There was something going on in Wistram...
...Well, to be honest, there was always something going on in Wistram. Her days were spent in solitude as she oversaw Zelkyr's domain and his works in his absence. She stoically commanded the golems to keep the place running. That was all she did most days. The [Mages] didn't like her, she knew that, but it was still her duty to keep them safe.
Except when it was her duty to do the opposite.
The arrival of children from another world was a fascinating occurrence. As always, she wondered what her creator would do. Something that blurred the lines between insanity and brilliance most likely.
Still, he'd asked her to wait, so she waited.
The situation had changed. One of the lesser golems had been destroyed. This too was not an uncommon event. The dangers in the less-traveled parts of Wistram were many and varied. Also, not every golem was as robust and powerful as those that Zelkyr had personally made.
Plenty existed from before he'd risen up and claimed what was rightfully his.
They could not always handle unexpected threats, and occasionally got damaged. Damaged, but rarely destroyed. Cognita could repair damage. As long as a golem's core was intact, it did not require someone on the level of Zelkyr to fix. It didn't even require a [Mage] if you were skilled enough.
Cognita wasn't the only golem that could repair her kind, but she was the best. It was the same as everything else. She was the pinnacle of Zelkyr's art, and she could do almost anything that was required of her.
What she couldn't do was repair a core that had been completely drained of magic.
Such an attack was beyond her abilities to correct. The golem that had been destroyed hadn't been the most potent one in Wistram, but it still had been made by her creator. Destroying it was unforgivable. It was an attack on Zelkyr. On her. On Wistram!
Not that she expected the 'Archmages' who 'ruled' Wistram to understand. They couldn't appreciate her creator's brilliance. It was up to her to find the perpetrator!
...And do what?
Confront them?
Expel them?
Kill them?
Cognita paused.
She wasn't sure.
She couldn't let more of Zelkyr's work be damaged, but she also didn't wish to kill anyone else. She had done that so many times...
It. It hurt.
She had to do it for her creator. She had to do it for Zelkyr. She couldn't let him down.
But.
But it wasn't the same as killing monsters or fighting in a war. The [Mages] she'd slain weren't demons or crelers. They weren't harming other people.
But her creator had entrusted her with an important task, and she couldn't let him down.
Still, she wished she didn't have to... speak with people who'd known those she'd killed. Who'd looked up to them. Who'd loved them almost as much as she loved Zelkyr...
It was different though. THEY came to HER. They UNDERSTOOD the situation. They CHOSE their fate.
...And didn't that make it all the worst?
Cognita closed her eyes and centered her thoughts. She was getting distracted.
Now was not the time to dwell on the past. Now was the time to find out who had attacked Zelkyr's work, and thus her.
It couldn't be an accident or a flaw. Her creator did not make flawed golems. As long as there was ambient mana to draw from, the cores made by the [Archmage of Golems] would not fail on their own.
So it had to be the work of someone else, but whom?
Cognita suspected the children of Earth.
There was something... familiar about them. A trick she'd seen before.
Except she'd kept watch on them through the eyes of the other golems. They had all been in their rooms last night when the attack had happened. They were all in their rooms now.
Cognita resumed her patrol.
She had her duty, and she would see it fulfilled.
"Your big secret is a golem?" Montressa turned to look at Boxer and shook her head. "It's not a bad secret. If Pixel is the same as Cognita, I can see why you thought it would be worth a lot, but it's not so big that I couldn't afford it." She looked back at the cube golem. Each cube was a single color, which made for an interesting visual. "But, yeah. It's easily worth the secret of the sword and a lot more."
"I can understand your assumption." Pixel raised his hands to the side and shrugged. "In fact, I'm fairly certain that you're not the first to make it, but I'm not a golem."
"Oh, really?" Montressa crossed her arms.
The cubes of Pixel's head started flowing and merging with the rest of his body. They revealed a human face underneath. "Really."
Montressa blinked. Short black hair. Brown eyes. He looked about the same age as her. His skin was pink and healthy... so not a Selphid or... something else.
He could be a Dullahan. She wasn't a stranger to those that could detach their heads and and limbs. Heck, her best friend was one.
Actually... that might make sense. Dullahans were basically the only [Mages] that bothered to wear armor.
"That suit is armor." She took a step forward and peered at it. "That's a much better secret, but if it's already claimed, finding an artifact isn't world-shaking."
"An artifact, eh?" Pixel looked at his hand and turned it side to side. "I suppose that's a correct assessment, but the suit isn't my secret." He paused. "Well, it's A secret, but not THE secret. More like a side-secret." He waved his hand and a dozen such suits appeared standing against the wall.
Or were they golems? Some of them were much bigger than Pixel.
"Is the secret where you found them?" Montressa's eyes went wide. "THAT is a secret I'd be hard-pressed to sell." A cache of artifacts? She didn't know how potent they were, but she'd never seen their like. Except... "You're an Ullsinoi, aren't you?" She palmed her face. "Argh. Of course you are." She ruefully smiled. "I'll admit, it's a good prank." She wondered how they'd done it. They weren't likely to tell her, even if they were selling some secret alongside it.
"The [Illusionists]?" Pixel asked. "Hardly." The voice came from behind her. Montressa whirled around to see another Pixel. "Illusions I can do." He split into two as he took a step to both the left and the right. "In fact, it's somewhat of a perk of mine." The two Pixels faded into nothing, and Montressa turned to look at the real, or at least the original, Pixel. "But my armor, all of them, are not fake. I am not a member of the Ullsinoi. I am not an [Illusionist]." He bowed. "I am an [Artificer]. I made everything you see here."
Montressa's eyes narrowed and she pulled out her truth stone.
...It glowed orange.
That. That wasn't a possibility. She pulled out her other one.
...It glowed green.
"Wha... How? They aren't enchanted to be able to do that."
"Another perk of being me, I'm afraid." Pixel smirked. "You must understand the value of information, and preventing others from obtaining it." The smirk shifted into a grin. "So, is my presence in Wistram and the hints of my abilities a sufficiently big secret?"
Montressa was silent as she walked over to the other suits of armor. She gently ran her fingers over them as she moved past each one. They were solid. Not illusions. At least not completely. They were far smoother to the touch than what they should be - the edges of the cubes not existing as anything other than a visual phantasm. She then moved to the doorway that was covered with the shimmering field. A ward. It felt like glass to the touch, but somehow even smoother. No give. No transfer of heat. A perfect insulator.
She wasn't the greatest [Mage], but she had a talent for barriers. The one that Pixel had casually cast without saying a word... No. She glanced at the four pillars in the corners of the room. That he had created by using an artifact...
They were beyond her talent to identify.
She turned back to Pixel and bowed her head. "I can't say if what you're telling me is the truth." But not being able to tell was, in its own way, evidence. "But, yes." She glanced at Boxer who had been leaning against the wall with a smirk this entire time. "This is a secret bigger than any I have."
She sighed.
At least Pixel wasn't likely to devalue any secrets she told him in return. Also, if she played her cards right, she might get an artifact of her own out of this deal.
"I can exchange a good number of secrets for what you've shown me. What would you like to hear about first?"
Pixel stroked his chin and nodded. "How about we start with why you warned Boxer about the rapier being cursed?"