"You know, come to think of it, you don't know how our magic works, do you?" he asked, eyeing the "fish" with amusement. Twenty large, half-meter-long monstrosities flopped about on the floor, tied up and writhing.
"What… what are you going to do with them?" Lucian asked, his unease growing.
"We're going to make barbecued fish, with a little help from you, of course," the Traveller said with a wide smile.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Simple. Just be yourself. We're magically connected, whether you like it or not. And since you're an incorporeal soul now, you can inhabit other living things. Soooo... if you 'inhabit' one of these lovely creatures, they can pay the price of the ritual instead of me."
Lucian's eyes widened. "Wait, you want me to possess the fish and then use it for the Ritual of Flesh into Steel?"
"Bingo! Though, it's more 'inhabit' than 'possess.' You won't have control over the fish or be able to influence it, but you'll get a sense of what the fish experiences."
Lucian's concern deepened. "What does that mean?"
"Oh, nothing too bad," the Traveller said with a wave of his hand. "You'll just feel what the fish feels. You know—pain, for example."
"Wait, what?!"
"It's not all bad!" the Traveller reassured him, lighting up the stove. "By inhabiting something magical, you'll gain insight into its magic—just like how I know what you can do. We have a term for people like you, actually. A 'system.' And as part of our arrangement, you'll need to give me item descriptions of whatever I make you inhabit."
"Since when was that part of the—no! That doesn't matter! I'm going to feel the pain of the fish?!" Lucian shouted, his panic rising.
"It'll be fine," the Traveller said nonchalantly, pushing the stove into place.
"No, no, no, no!"
"Consider this a necessary sacrifice for the greater good," the Traveller said with a grin, pointing at the flopping fish. Before Lucian could protest further, he felt himself pulled into one of the creatures.
"Also, don't forget, I'll need that item description later," the Traveller called after him, his voice annoyingly cheerful.
Lucian wanted to scream, but he couldn't. His entire being was now inside the fish, a creature twisted by the magical corruption of the outer lands. Though the fish was monstrous, it still retained some strange remnants of normality. Unfortunately, Lucian's newfound perspective allowed him to feel every sensation—each painful gasp for air as the fish flopped on the floor, the rough scales scraping against the ground.
The Traveller wasted no time. He dragged the fish toward the stove and prepared to force-feeding it the metal shavings. Lucian's discomfort intensified, but there was nothing he could do.
Due to the magical corruption outside the Tower's protection, many creatures had developed monstrous traits, often turning into Fells. These "fish" were no exception. Despite being dangerous predators, they were oddly easy to catch, drawn to flesh of their kin like moths to a flame. All it took was a metal net, some fish meat, and a minute in the water, and one could haul in a dozen. Be sure to separate them though, they have a taste for their own kind.
The Traveller's voice echoed through the tavern, steady and deliberate. Touching a special piece of metal on the metallic book, he began the spell.
"Smith of Flesh, demon of the red forge, transmuter of life, I invoke your power!"
He picked up a piece of charcoal and looked at the fish with a gleam in his eye. The room seemed to darken, the air growing heavier with each word he spoke.
"Flesh that was born, flesh that can burn, flesh that shall be reborn," he chanted, forcing the charcoal into the fish's gaping mouth.
Lucian, trapped inside the creature, felt the heat intensifying, his awareness flooded with the sensations of the fish. But he had no control—he could only watch and feel.
The Traveller then reached for the iron shavings, his voice unwavering.
"Flesh of the forge, flesh of sharpness, flesh of strength," he continued, shoving the iron down the creature's throat with a merciless shove.
The fish writhed on the table, its movements frantic and jerking. Lucian could feel the unnatural mixture of metal and flesh warping within the creature's body.
"Flame shall burn, flame shall bind, flame shall forge," the Traveller declared, turning to the fire. He placed the fish upon the roaring flame and grabbed a hammer from the bucket.
With each strike, the Traveller hammered the fish, its body convulsing under the impact. Lucian felt every blow as if it were his own flesh being forged and reshaped, a searing pain that shot through the creature's form and, by extension, through him.
The hammering continued, the sound of metal clanging against the fish's bones reverberating through the room. The ritual was in full motion.
As the final words of the incantation echoed through the room, magic from a distant source began to flow into the Traveller's body. The energy surged through him like a powerful current. Soon, the fish stopped twitching, and the ritual came to an end.
Lucian, still shaken, pulled himself free of the creature's remains. He gasped for air instinctively, though in his incorporeal form, he neither needed nor could actually breathe.
"We've just got 19 more to go," the Traveller said casually, wiping his hands as if the process had been no more than a mundane chore.
Hours later, both Lucian and the Traveller lay sprawled on the ground, utterly exhausted. A pile of burnt, twisted fish corpses lay beside them, the remains of the ritual littering the room.
The Traveller glanced over at Lucian and chuckled. "Why are you tired, anyway? I was the one doing all the work. Imagine the boss doing everything while the employee just lies around." He laughed, amused at his own joke.
Lucian stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind too numb to respond.
"You still owe me an item description, by the way. Though, to be fair, burnt fish isn't exactly the most fascinating magical artifact." The Traveller nudged him lightly, waiting for a response.
"..."
"Come on, cheer up!" the Traveller continued. "We probably got hundreds of units of magic from that ritual. Think about it! If we'd done it the old-fashioned way, you'd have had to eat kilos of iron and burn through plenty of toes." He grinned.
"I actually went through that!" Lucian snapped, finally unable to hold it in any longer.
The Traveller blinked, then nodded, seemingly taking the outburst in stride. "You make a very good point," he conceded, finally shutting up.