Reveal

After healing all of their wounds somewhat with the elixirs Alec had on on him along with some that the strange man had seemingly brought just in case, the seven of them including the mechanical bird traveled the rest of the way to the item shop. Alec and Nera were both being partially supported by the man with the metal arms since they were still groggy from the battle while Charlotte was able to walk by herself after getting a few minutes to catch her breath.

The front of the shop had a bronze exterior and the sign read "Trinkets & Treasures" with each letter seemingly being made of a different type of material from wrought iron to clear plastic. A loop of neon lights surrounding the sign that illuminated it allowing them to see it clearly even in the thick of night.

The group then proceeded to walk through the door of the store. The interior was about what Alec expected an item shop to look like with an assortment of mechanical equipment along with a variety of styli, potions, and other mystical items.

"Alright, I think they have recovered enough by now, you can let them go, Iric."

The man who was supporting both of them then promptly raised his arms forcing Alec and Nera to stand on their own. Alec was a little dizzy for a little bit after the abrupt action before his head cleared. However, he noticed that Nera was already good enough to stand albeit annoyed as soon as Iric let go.

"Okay, so you said you can tell us what's going on right? Well, I'd like you to tell us right now then. My mind's been boiling over with questions the entire walk over here."

Alec stated this impatient to get some answers that could clear his confusion.

"Hmmm..." The scruffy-looking man frowned for a moment before opening his mouth to answer.

"Well, I can't tell you everything since even I don't know the full extent of what's happening. All I know is what I've seen with these eyes and ears of mine as well as those of this little birdy, Sylvester, here over these past few months." He gestured to the clockwork bird that was now perched on his arm.

"These past few months...does this have something to do with the recent increase of Wraith attacks in the thirteenth?" Nera inquired.

"Most likely, I've heard of reports of a strange fog appearing and people being attacked by Wraiths. It's why I came to your location after my familiar spotted the fog. However, I didn't know you two would be there."

"Well, it sure seemed like you did with how smug you looked when you saw us." Nera chimed in.

"That was just relaxing you all. It wouldn't help if I was looking frantic myself would it?"

This answer seemed to placate Nera's dubious attitude to some extent and she appeared that she was more open to listening to what he had to say for now.

"Okay, first off, I think it's best if you all inform me of what has transpired and then I can fill in some of the missing pieces for you."

Alec, Nera, and Charlotte looked at each other and silently agreed that it was a good enough idea before telling Wit about the events of that night. They told him about everything, about Charlotte's mandrake form, the two mysterious people that had attacked them, the Astral Tome Trial, the Arcana Pages, and even about Alec, a Blank, somehow managing to use magic.

"Wow, you all have sure been through a lot! Hmmm, now where do I start trying to unravel this patchwork mess..."

Wit put his hand chin and looked up at nowhere for a moment.

"I'll guess I'll start with the Astral Tome Trial since that seems to be the engine of all of this. Do you three know about the origin of Craft?"

They were all visibly perplexed at this rather odd question that seemed to not have anything to do with the current situation. Wit looked unsurprised at their bewildered expressions before continuing.

"Of course not, the ancient records are somewhat closely kept information. Their common knowledge for Craftsmen but hardly any non-Craftsmen knows the details about them, so I'll guess I'll have to inform you on this event."

"You see, once, long ago, the world was filled with much more strife and misery then there is now if you can believe that. Humanity suffered tremendously from disaster, conflict, famine, and peril and was close to being on the brink of extinction. At this dire moment, it is said, that the Spirit of the World, Aetheria, appeared before four gifted artisans with noble hearts, a blacksmith, a messenger, a farmer, and a warrior and bestowed upon them the power to utilize their skills to a much greater extent. Each of them received one of the four forms of Craft.

The Blacksmith was given Creation Craft to build structures and tools that would defend humanity from disaster. The Messenger was given Invocation Craft to weave the winds and spread the words of peace to stifle conflict. The Farmer was given Distribution Craft to make the crops of the people replete and avoid famine. The Warrior was given Augmentation Craft to empower humans and give them the strength to fight against peril. They were the first 4 Craftsman."

"Uhhh....what does this have to do with went through. This is a cool history lesson but still..."

Alec was the one to butt in this time. He was intrigued by the story, it sounded just like a legend or myth which always interested him but he wanted to get to his answers already and he didn't feel like wading through a night long lecture to get them.

"Hold on young man, I'm getting to it, now where was I... Ah, yes. I was just getting to the part about the Astral Tome."

All of their eyes and ears perked up at this word.

"That's right, the Astral Tome is what was used by Aetheria to give each of the first four Craftsman their Codexes and the magic that came along with them. It had the power to bestow Craft onto any person. Surely, a relic like that would explain your current situation, young miss."

He pointed his cane at Charlotte who retreated back from it bashfully.

"However, the Astral Tome was destroyed ages ago." Wit continued flatly.

"Then what about the Astral Tome that weird lady was talking about and Charlotte's powers!?" Alec asked even more confused than at the start of this conversation.

Wit twirled his cane and smirked with the look of someone who had all of the answers and enjoyed watching people flail around for them. Alec was starting to understand why Nera found this man so annoying.

"The Astral Tome that the Harp woman discussed is probably a counterfeit. A superb replica of the original made by the Great Sage Merlin himself but a counterfeit nonetheless. From what I can gather, somehow the Astral Tome was split into separate "Arcana Pages" that can imbue a person with Craft but doesn't allow them to grant Craft to others and now various people in Centre City are fighting over the pages of this Astral Tome in order to complete it and obtain its full power."

"Even if it's a fake. With something like that, you can change the world...Wait, why aren't the Paladins or the major guilds rampaging through the city trying to get their hands on this?"

"That is a good question. I can only figure that whoever set up this "trial" and the participants of it are doing their best to make sure not too many people find out about this. Furthermore, hardly anyone would believe that an item like that actually exists if they hear about it. I will also add that it is in your best favors if you don't say anything about this matter either. If the Paladins find out that about the Astral Tome Trial and your involvement they won't hesitate to lock the two of you up for vicious interrogation and it'll be much worse for this girl who has one of the pages of the Tome within her."

Wit explained pointing at Charlotte again

"About that, is there any way to remove the Arcana Page from her body?"

Alec questioned Wit eager to know if there was some way he could prevent Charlotte from being involved in all of this any longer.

Wit looked sternly at both Alec and Charlotte.

"Yes, there is one way to remove an Arcana Page from a person..."

Alec's lit up with relief before shortly losing that light with his next word."

"Death."