Lightning split the sky and the twelve-year-old orphan squinted at the sudden brightness. Hail pelted him as he moved down the abandoned streets looking for somewhere to escape the storm. He jolted involuntarily a moment later when booming thunder shook the surrounding buildings.
Young Flynn Finnigan knew the streets in that area of Aramath like the back of his hand and knew that most of the buildings were abandoned. The shops were generally in good condition and boarded up to protect them from unwanted squatters, indicating that someone, somewhere still cared about the buildings. That had kept the curious young man from exploring the buildings before, but his desperation to get out of the increasingly violent storm drove him to try breaking into one of them. He just needed to find one that he could get into.
Hail bounced off the streets all around him as he checked building after building, only to find every building securely boarded up. He tried to pry some of the boards loose that covered the windows of a shop, but without any tools or the strength of a magical card, all he accomplished was to scrape up his fingers raw.
Flynn was desperate enough to get out of the storm that he tried knocking on the doors of several non-abandoned buildings but predictably got no response. He knew that no one was likely to open their door to a homeless orphan boy in the middle of the biggest storm the city had seen in years. The only person that might open their door to him was the clerk at the Magical Card Emporium, Walter, but the shop was on the other side of the frontier town. And even then, the card shop would be closed, and Flynn had no idea where the older man lived.
The orphan boy flinched as lightning lit up the night sky again, but in the fading flash of light, he caught sight of a partially open window on the second story of an abandoned cobbler’s shop across the street.
Flynn smiled. The fact that the window was on the second floor presented no problem to the nimble young man. He looked up and down the streets, making sure there wasn’t anyone else out and about in the storm.
With no one around to see his impending act of burglary, Flynn raced across the street. Rain and hail pelted him as he ran, but the young man ignored it. When he reached the abandoned building, he started to climb, his bare feet and nimble fingers easily finding gaps in the wood.
Flynn reached the partially open window just as another bolt of lightning split the sky. He dove through the opening as the building shook from another booming blast of thunder.
The young man lay on his back breathing hard for a moment before pushing himself to a seated position and looking around the room. When he didn’t see any threats, he collapsed back to the floor and let exhaustion overtake him.
Flynn smiled. That night had changed his life. Not only had he found a safe place to call home, but the cobbler’s shop downstairs had also been full of tools, materials, and several pairs of completed shoes and boots. For the first time in his life, he had worn new boots. He had also been able to take a break from begging for scraps by selling some of the tools and completed footwear.
Later, when he’d reached the age of sixteen and started his quest to become a card wielder, the tools he hadn’t sold served as weapons. That journey had taken far longer than the younger Flynn had ever imagined—years longer—but once he’d earned that first Strength of Arms card, his life had changed far faster than he could have ever dreamed possible.
Now, he officially owned—well, co-owned—the building he’d been calling home, and it had been fully renovated. Unlike the early renovations Flynn had done himself, the most recent renovation had been done by someone who actually had a Carpentry card and the loft now looked like a fancy apartment in the wealthy part of Aramath. At least, one in a wealthier part of town.
Flynn’s body had undergone an even bigger change than the building.
He looked down at the back of his hands and the Elite card tattoos that extended from his forearms and emerged from the sleeves of his shirt. The head of a battle hammer was boldly displayed on his left hand and the tip of a short sword on his right. And those were far from his only card tattoos. He smiled, thinking about the deck of card skills he had already accumulated, each of them etched into his skin in the form of a card tattoo.
Name: Flynn Finnigan
Level: Elite
Number of Cards: 9
Combat Cards: 3
Battle Hammer
Rank: Elite
Special Abilities:
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- Hammer Shield
- Recall
Dual Wielding
Rank: Advanced
Special Abilities:
- Double Double
Short Sword
Rank: Elite
Special Abilities:
- Curtain of Blades
- Melee Mirage
Crafting Cards: 0
Enhancement Cards: 5
Analyze
Rank: Elite
Special Abilities:
- Counting Cards
- Monster Seeker
Boundless Stride
Rank: Advanced
Special Abilities:
- Bull Rush
Fleet Feet
Rank: Advanced
Special Abilities:
- Dash
Ironhide
Rank: Advanced
Special Abilities:
- Rubber Skin
Strength of Arms
Rank: Advanced
Special Abilities:
- Crushing Blow
Healing Cards: 0
Spell Cards: 0
Utility Cards: 1
Bonded Familiar
Rank: Elite
Special Abilities:
- Skill Share
- What’s Mine is Yours
A satisfied sigh escaped Flynn’s lips and he smiled.
He lingered for a moment more, looking around his home, filled with pride, then headed for the stairs and descended into the part of the building that had been the cobbler’s shop.
The upper floor had undergone multiple changes over the years Flynn had lived there, but they were all modifications to the existing living space without fundamentally changing its function or purpose. The lower floor, on the other hand, had been completely transformed into something the original owner never could have imagined. The workshop that had once been used for the mundane task of making and repairing shoes was now an Epic level workshop where powerful magical artifacts could be created.
Nyx, the blue-haired woman who had become somewhat of a mentor—and part-time tormenter—was working on one of those artifacts as Flynn came down the stairs. She looked over her shoulder as the young man came down the stairs then turned back to her work, telling him, “I will be done in just a minute.”
Flynn raised an eyebrow. “With what?”
She didn’t answer but a moment later whatever she was working on started to glow. The light intensified until Flynn had to hold up a hand to shield his eyes. All he could see was the silhouette of the woman as she worked.
Then the light suddenly vanished, leaving the room suddenly dark by comparison.
Flynn blinked several times as his vision readjusted to the normal level of indoor light. As Nyx came back into focus, he could see a broad smile on her face. “Here ya go.”
She tossed a circular object toward him, and Flynn had to scramble to catch it. After fumbling the initial attempt, he snatched it from the air before it could hit the ground. His eyebrows rose as he looked down at the gold bracelet that was about as wide as his pinkie finger. It was covered in silver runes, and the magical symbols glowed slightly. He could barely contain his excitement as he used his Analyze card on it.
Name: Dimensional Storage Bracelet
Rank: Elite
A finely crafted bracelet containing a dimensional storage space which allows for storage of items in a personal pocket dimension only accessible through this item. Items can be instantaneously stored and retrieved by anyone possessing the bracelet. This item was created by an Epic level Artificer and can store up to five Elite rank items once activated. One storage location currently active.
Flynn stared at the bracelet in disbelief for several moments then looked up at Nyx who was watching him with a satisfied look on her face.
“I powered up one space for you,” she said. “You’ll have to take care of the other four spots. You’ll have to feed it the equivalent of ten Elite rank cards for each spot you want to unlock.”
That was more than Flynn had available, but that fact didn’t dampen the young man’s excitement in any way. “How do I put it on?”
“Just slide it over your hand,” Nyx said. “It will automatically expand to allow you to put it on and then resize itself to fit your wrist.”
Flynn did as she instructed, sliding it over his left hand and onto his wrist. He marveled at how the item magically transformed itself, first expanding as slipped it on then re-sizing to perfectly fit his wrist. He focused on the bracelet and a menu appeared.
Name: Dimensional Storage Bracelet
Rank: Elite
Space 1: empty
Space 2: not available
Space 3: not available
Space 4: not available
Space 5: not available
“The storage is rank based,” Nyx explained. “If you want to store lower-level items, you can store more. Each Elite space, once activated, can also store five Advanced rank or twenty-five Basic rank items, instead.”
“Can the spaces be activated at a lower level?” Flynn asked.
“No. Each one has to be activated at Elite level.”
“Okay. How do I use it?”
“Just touch an item and mentally command it to go into your storage space. To retrieve items, just will it to return. Make sure to strongly envision where you want the object to materialize. That will usually be in one of your hands, but it doesn’t have to be.”
“How far away can I make an object appear?”
“It has to be within arm’s reach, so you are capable of touching the item when it appears.”
Flynn nodded than reached down and touched the battle hammer hanging at his waist and willed it into the bracelet. He couldn’t stop himself from jumping a little bit when the weapon disappeared.
He pulled up the storage space menu just to be sure his weapon was there.
Name: Dimensional Storage Bracelet
Rank: Elite
Space 1: Battle Hammer, Rank: Elite
Space 2: not available
Space 3: not available
Space 4: not available
Space 5: not available
Flynn focused on the weapon and an instant later it appeared in his hand again. He smiled but was interrupted by a knock on the back door before he could send it back into the bracelet.
“Come in,” Nyx called out.
The door opened and Flynn’s grip on the weapon tightened. He frowned. “What’s he doing here?”