Nathan stood to one side as Janelle hauled the heavy oak door to his side workshop open easily. He sighed to himself. Janelle invested heavily in Strength and Agility, always looking for boosts for one or the other.
By his count, she had the most he'd ever heard of. Some of them were so rare, they weren't even on the forums. He'd asked her once only to get a cheeky 'but then I won't be special' in return.
Outside the door, a kid stood, breathing heavily. He was clad in leather and homespun. At least Nathan assumed it was homespun. He knew for a fact that it was tougher than some armors.
What concerned Nathan and had Janelle looking worried was the matted blood in the kid's towhead. He was also sporting suspicious rips in his clothes and was clutching one arm as he stood panting.
"Tobias? What happened?" Janelle asked, ushering the kid into the workshop. She peered outside before securely closing the door.
Nathan led the kid to one of the stools that littered the workshop. It was positioned to provide a bird's eye view through one of the model's windows into what would be considered the 'throne' room. With the model stowed away, the view changed to one of the windows that let the afternoon sunlight stream in.
"I wasn't sure if you were here. Your guild is so spread out," Tobias wheezed.
Nathan frowned at that. Tobias was the mayor's son and a good kid, but he was usually followed by at least two or three others.
"Why were you looking for the Guild?" Janelle asked, rooting through the cabinet Nathan kept his first aid tools.
While injuries in-game could be healed with magic or potions, Nathan rarely took the time. He found that simply bandaging the small wounds he picked up was faster than pausing long enough to find one of his guildmates for one or the other.
"You really don't have any potions," Janelle complained. "Remind me to talk to Riverrun about getting you some."
"Potions take too much time," Nathan said, pulling over a stool to sit next to Tobias. "Where are your buddies, Tobias?"
"I sent Ned to the next town, just in case," Tobias said, turning his head to look at Nathan. Nathan wasn't sure he liked the glassy look in the kid's eye. "Aubrey didn't make it. Neither did Colin."
Nathan and Janelle exchanged disturbed glances as she approached, a roll of bandages and disinfectant in her hand.
"I don't see how potions take longer than wrapping a bandage," Janelle said conversationally, clearing her throat just a little.
"So, what about your dad?" Nathan asked, casting a quick glance to the door. Janelle had automatically barred it when she closed it. "Where's he?"
"He said to run to the guild and warn you," Tobias said, turning his head towards Janelle as she went to touch his arm. "I think I got Corroded. Don't touch it."
"What's 'Corroded?'" Nathan asked Janelle who shook her head and shrugged.
"It's okay, Tobias." Janelle glanced to the side as if she saw something. When Tobias followed her look, she hooked a finger into the rip on his sleeve and pulled sharply.
Nathan's stool fell as he sprang backwards. He could feel his heart leap into his mouth, the sudden surge of terror unwelcome and irritating.
The boy's arm was speckled with tiny black dots. The largest was where the rip had been.
Janelle gently took Tobias's hand that had been clutching his injured arm and turned it towards the light. There was nothing there other than a trace of blood.
"They have to come off," Nathan snarled. His thoughts were filled with a chapter from his hidden book. It talked about a similar injury that had devoured its host.
Then he paused at the thought. Host. With an internal shiver, he wrenched open the drawer on a nearby workbench, nearly falling off his stool as he teetered on two legs.
When his stool came upright, he looked up to see both Tobias and Janelle staring at him, a faint hint of the mischievous boy Tobias was peeping out of his eyes.
"Hold him still," Nathan said, standing up with one of his favorite chisels in his hand.
"Nathan?" Janelle asked, dropping the sleeve to the floor.
Nathan followed the sleeve, his expression growing somber as black flared around the edges of the rip, slowly curling the fabric like a paper set alight. It was exactly like his book said.
Aside from the useful spells, the book had had stories. Most of them, he'd dismissed as mere flights of fancy the writer had conjured to pass the time.
"Hold still," Nathan repeated. He stared into Tobias' eyes, unsurprised to see the spark warring with a darker shadow.
Tobias held out his arm, the spark in his eye wavering as it did. Janelle was frowning at Nathan, her eyes darting between him and Tobias.
Nathan took a firmer grasp of his chisel. Then he grabbed Tobias' arm with his free hand and took a deep breath.
"Be ready," he told Janelle.
"Ready? Ready for what?" Janelle asked, standing up. She jittered in place a second when she caught sight of the sleeve on the floor. "What's happening to that thing? Is it on me?"
Nathan bit back a sigh of relief as Tobias' head turned to watch Janelle's near frantic dancing about.
"Metallic," Nathan whispered.
The spots froze as did the rest of Tobias' arm, taking on a gleaming sheen. Then it changed to a more wooden texture.
Nathan shook his head mentally. It was still just like the book had said.
He set the chisel against the biggest spot and thrust. With a soft 'swip' noise, the dot fell, leaving behind a swathe of red and white. The edges started to ooze as the spell started to fade.
With swift, sharp movements, he disposed of the smaller spots as well. There weren't many, just three that looked like cancerous moles against the boy's pale skin.
"Bandages," Nathan snapped at Janelle who'd stopped her antics to gape at the new wounds.
"Nathan!" Janelle protested as she snatched up the roll of bandages and quickly wrapped the boy's arm.
"He needs light," Nathan said, dragging Tobias towards the window.
Janelle followed, still wrapping. Then she stopped, staring as a near tangible smoke flowed out of Tobias' eye as he entered the strong sunlit part of the workshop.
"What was that?" She whispered.
"A Shadow," Tobias answered. "Thank you, Grandmaster Nathan," he continued before swaying and collapsing.
"What's going on," Janelle asked Nathan, turning to look at the scraps of flesh on the workshop floor only to find that they were gone, replaced by what looked like holes.
"Something I thought was a fairy tale," Nathan replied, pursing his lips. "Contact the Guild. We need to investigate."