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Book 3: Chapter : 26 - Nice Shot, Man

Combat

Rare

This card grants its wielder a ballistic-telekinetic affinity to metal objects less than one centimeter in all dimensions. The wielder will have fine control of this object within one inch of their body. When charged with mana, these objects may be released and shot out at high speeds. Aim well. The wielder’s control of the metal ends once it passes beyond one inch of their body.

This card grants the use of mana.

Brixaby whooped and executed a flip in mid-air. "This is perfect!”

Suddenly, his right forearm seemed to blink out of existence. Within a moment, he was holding a silver chainmail shirt. "Here," he thrust it at Arthur, "I made this for you."

Then, unexpectedly, he pulled it back before Arthur had a chance to reach out for it. "No, wait! I need to modify this."

There was a slight displacement of air, as if Brixaby had stepped into his Personal Space and returned, still holding the new shirt. Now the chainmail appeared more worn around the wrists. Brixaby had attached some links with openings on them so they could be easily removed from the shirt. They clinked as he buzzed up and down in excitement.

"Now it's ready. Wait, why haven't you added the card?"

Arthur was reeling inside. He looked from Brixaby to Cressida and back again. "But, you're the one with the chainmail skills. You should have this."

He had several cards that had kept him safe so far. His 'Return to Start' and his 'Phase In/Phase Out' card, not to mention the skills and resistances that he had been advancing over the last couple of months.

He was excited to finally add a combat card to his deck, but he wanted to keep Brixaby safe.

The little dark dragon snorted at him. "I don’t need that."

"But—"

Brixaby waved a clawed hand at him. "Put it in your heart deck—we will simply share the card." Technically, this was true. He and Brixaby shared the capabilities of their heart decks.

Not all dragon-rider pairs were like this—case in point, Joy and Cressida. Still, it wasn’t a perfect solution.

"But… it won't be your card, though," Arthur insisted. He knew that this was likely a losing battle, but he had to make sure Brixaby knew what he was giving up. "Yes, you’ll have access to my card, but it won't be your card. It won't be imprinted on your soul. You'll have to think about accessing it, and this is a combat card, Brixaby. That means you might need it at a moment's notice."

Brixaby did not seem concerned. "Then I will simply take the next combat card we come across. Or consume it," he added after a moment.

"Arthur," Cressida laid a hand on his shoulder. "Take it from your retinue rider. It's past time. You need a combat card.”

“I want to see you put holes in stuff with your new metal powers," Joy said, then lifted her deadly forearm and pretended to sight down it. "Pew, pew."

"Alright," Arthur said, "if you insist..." He snatched the card from the table and shoved it into his heart before anybody could think of a true reason why he shouldn't.

He had politely refused… but he really wanted the card. It slid into his heart deck as if it was meant to be there.

Along with it came a curious sense of... weight? He couldn’t quite define it, but this card felt different from the other—mostly utility-focused—cards. It was as if he was now accessing a different part of himself. One that had been severely underused.

He didn’t have time to think about it before Brixaby was, once again, shoving the chainmail shirt at him. "I demand that you try this on and practice with it often. I will not have my rider miss his mark and embarrass me."

"I care about you too, Brixaby," Arthur muttered, rolling his eyes. But he grabbed the chainmail, anyway. It was shockingly well made, and so much had happened within the last few moments that he hadn’t had time to realize until now… Brixaby had made this specifically to keep him safe.

And, somehow, he had managed to get Arthur’s exact measurements because the chainmail slid over his existing shirt without feeling either tight or baggy.

Raising an eyebrow, he glanced at Brixaby but found the little dragon buzzing around him, examining his work.

"Almost there…" Brixaby said, and there was once again that distortion in the air before he pulled out a smooth leather patch that clipped perfectly over Arthur’s right shoulder and down his arm. It was a landing pad for Brixaby.

"You know, you’re almost too big for me to carry you, nowadays," Arthur said. He knew that Brixaby had a habit of sneaking card shards whenever he could. He hadn’t been growing quickly, but he had been growing.

"Nonsense," Brixaby said, "you will simply have to work on the strengthening aspects of your Master of Body Enhancement card. Think of carrying me as a training opportunity." Though he backwinged to settle back on the cot, watching Arthur expectantly.

They all were.

They all wanted a show. Arthur grinned to himself and accessed his brand new card.

Instantly, he was aware of the chainmail in a way he’d never imagined. He felt every link, each woven with the others in perfect or near-perfect alignment. Brixaby had indeed done excellent work.

It took a mere thought and a trickle of mana to separate one of the already unlinked rivets from the others at the edge of the sleeve.

"Next time, you don't have to leave that gap in the rivets," Arthur said, his voice slightly distant as most of his attention was on his task. "I can just break them myself if I need to."

It was strange. As if he were moving the rivet with an extra, invisible hand. Only there was a definite barrier when he lifted it upward. He instinctively knew that if the rivet traveled more than an inch from his skin, he'd drop it.

"Send it at something!" Joy said enthusiastically. "I wanna see how fast it goes."

Arthur nodded absently and raised his hand, choosing an object at random: his pillow.

Again, he knew what to do on an instinctive level. This card was in his heart deck. It would be a part of him forever.

It took only a moment to charge the rivet with mana.

Though there was no outward change, he felt it. The tiny rivet now had magical weight.

Then he released it.

With a ping like a spoon striking the bottom of a pan, the rivet shot off. It was so fast that Arthur didn't even see it move.

The pillow twitched and feathers puffed out of a new hole on the surface.

Brixaby and Joy both let out roars of approval.

Cressida turned to him, hands on her hips. "Did you just put a hole through your brand new down-feather pillow?"

"Uh," the answer was yes, but Arthur wasn't an idiot.

Or maybe he sort of was because he liked that pillow.

Then he saw Cressida's top lip twitch. She was holding back a smile.

"That's a nice card," she said. "Let's see how it does against my mana shield."

Despite Arthur's initial reservations, Cressida didn't have a wish to put herself in danger twice in one day. Her shield bubbled about her in a sphere, but she had Arthur fire to the edge of it just in case his rivet punched through.

It didn't, but it did ricochet off at an angle and strike the far wall hard enough to send rock chips flying.

Arthur lowered his arm. "I think we should practice outside."

"I agree," Brixaby said, which surprised Arthur. Then he turned to Joy. "Did you exterminate all the rabbits in that warren, or are there a few left for me to shoot at?"

"I think it would be better to find a new warren. All that's left are the baby bunnies," Joy said then turned to Cressida. "Oh! I forgot. Brixaby and I were talking, and we decided you should have a new card, so you can be sneaky."

She looked meaningfully at Brixaby who only reluctantly pulled the Stealth Class card from his Personal Space.

Arthur was shocked his dragon hadn't eaten it already.

"Brix, are you sure?"

"You can't give me that card," Cressida said in the same breath.

"What is with you humans and not accepting cards?" Irritated, Brixaby flicked the card at Cressida who caught it out of reflex. "It is a skill card, so of course I don't need to add it to my secondary core, but I would very much like to eat it so you should hurry up and add it to your deck." He eyed the card meaningfully. "Before I change my mind."

"But..." She looked at Joy who extended her neck and nudged the card back at her with the tip of her muzzle.

"My venom claws protect me, but I need to know you're safe, too."

Blinking back tears, Cressida nodded and pulled down the collar of her shirt to push the card into her heart.

She closed her eyes and a moment later... she became harder to look at.

Though Arthur stared straight at her, it was as if his eyes wanted to slide to the side and focus on something else. Strange. He had never seen multiple Stealth skills work from the outside before.

"This is amazing," Cressida whispered. She deactivated her new card because suddenly she was front and center in Arthur's view again. Her eyes were full of tears. "Thank you, Joy, and... thank you, Brixaby."

"Yay!" Joy wrapped her wings around her rider in an enthusiastic hug -- being very sure to keep her deadly arm away from her.

Brixaby let out a long, wistful sigh. It was clear he still wanted to eat that card.

And, likely, many of the shards that had gone into Arthur’s too.

The next words slipped from Arthur without his thinking about it, but he knew it was right.

"Don't worry, Brix. You'll have more soon."

"What do you mean?" Brixaby asked.

Arthur took a breath. "We need to test our new cards out. Most of us have Stealth and now we all have ways to defend ourselves. It's time we find out where the council stashes their combat cards."