Gunwitch

I flipped past some more boring, old, normal text until I found more of the good glowy stuff.

To those who would lead, she leaves this crown of resonant authority. Bies knew the weight of words spoken by one whom none think to question, how easily wisdom is granted to those who simply sound wise, and how rarely the listener stops to question why. She did not grant this gift lightly.

Wear this with care, seeker. The mind that speaks freely, unburdened by doubt, may find its words mistaken for truth more often than it deserves. So speak with care, for your words may shape minds long after you have forgotten them.

[Bies’ Teaching - CloverWaveSolPoison]

Gain the [Sage’s Resonance] passive

+100% Mana regeneration

+30% Faster cast rate

+20% Skill effectiveness

+25% Poison resistance

+20 Attunement

+10 Luck

I didn’t know what [Sage’s Resonance] was, since I’d never heard of it before, I asked the System what the skill did.

[Sage’s Resonance]

Type: Passive

Wisdom is not always spoken, sometimes it is merely heard.

Even your most mundane musings carry the weight of revelation. People are more inclined to find wisdom in your words and actions, whether or not you intended any. Scales with Attunement. Does not affect party members.

Right. The super serious text made a bit more sense now. Thankfully, I always carefully considered my words before I spoke, so I wouldn’t have to worry about anything. I knew very well how important things like phrasing and tonality were, so I always tried to communicate as clearly as possible. One could say I was a master of communication.

I nodded to myself with satisfaction, pushing back the little annoying voice in the back of my mind that reminded me of all the times I had genuinely lost the ability to form a coherent sentence in public. That was a long time ago. I was different now. I had grown as a person and as a leader. I was certain that wouldn’t happen again.

Yes. It would be fine. This would be a great addition to my arsenal. I still had to find some headgear to put it in, but Ola could probably help me with that. She seemed resourceful, especially when it came to outfits. I was also pretty sure I could make this runeword as well. In fact, I could probably make Bies’ Wisdom and this at the same time. So far it was looking good for me with some genuine upgrades in my future.

I flipped and I flipped. I saw some more glowy text, but it didn’t look like the recipe for a runeword so I skipped past it. No time for that stuff, I needed gear. I needed power! To save people in a noble way of course. And also Bies. I was doing this for her, and I was doing this for the people. Even if I was still going to kill Menekrates and every single member of the Church of Stvora. It was a peace mission. Bies didn’t have to worry about my intentions.

The next runeword I came across was Bies’ Embrace:

Bies often spoke of warmth as armor. Not against blades or spells, but against the cold indifference of a world too quick to abandon its own. To those who carry her embrace, the frost holds no claim.

Remember, seeker, even in the harshest places, comfort can be given freely, and shared warmth is its own strength.

[Bies’ Embrace - IceCloverPoisonWaveVortex]

Cannot be frozen

+10% of Damage taken is converted into Mana

+100% Mana regeneration

+30% Faster cast rate

+30% Poison resistance

+20 Attunement

+10 Luck

I was a warm person. A kind person. So this would also suit me. The cannot be frozen enhancement and 10% of damage taken is converted into mana were also extremely good. No one had ever tried to freeze me before, but it would be great if no one would be able to. Mobility was how I survived and staying in one place meant certain death. A part of the damage I received actually replenishing my mana, and thus my [Mana Shield] was also very, very good. It basically meant 10% of all damage would be ignored.

I knew I had the runestones to make this runeword as well, but I had a feeling that if I made this, I couldn’t make one of the others. That meant I’d have to choose.

I was also starting to get a good idea of what gear to slot the runes in. The first was probably a weapon. The second headgear. This one a chest piece. There would probably be at least one more runeword for the leg slot.

So far the book did not disappoint, and my opinion of Bies grew with every runeword she had left for me to find.

I flipped some more until I found another runeword.

Bies understood the weight a wanderer carries. Not just in gear and goods, but in purpose, in grief, in the people left behind. She offers this small mercy: let the body move lighter, even when the heart cannot.

To move forward is its own kind of devotion. May your steps be swift, and your burdens few.

[Bies’ Pledge - WaveCloudCloverPoisonVortex]

Your total weight is reduced by 30%

Stamina cost for movement and movement related abilities is reduced by 30%

+30% Stamina regeneration

+100% Mana regeneration

+30% Faster cast rate

+25% Poison resistance

+20 Attunement

+10 Luck

Another good one, especially for someone like me. Despite having found so many runestones already, I still didn’t have enough to make everything I wanted. I’d probably never have enough to make everything I wanted. I just kept discovering new amazing runewords. It almost made me think of Silesia as a fun place. Every new runeword felt like a little gift. And I love gifts.

There had to be a way to create your own runestones somehow. Then I wouldn’t have to rely on dumb luck to find what I needed. That made me wonder, if Bies knew how to make runewords, did she also know how to make runestones? I found it hard to believe that only Stvora would be able to make them. Surely someone would be able to reverse engineer these things. Maybe a super high level crafter. Or Bies. Or me? Maybe there were skills that would allow me to do just that, even if we didn’t have runestones back home. We had magic and we had stones, so I couldn’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work. I also turned an essence into a bullet. Something to keep in mind for later.

Because right now there was only one thing on my mind. Well, technically I was just thinking about something else, but I was planning to shift my focus to the next runeword.

I skipped through the pages looking for more runewords. There was more glowy text that didn’t have runewords, so I didn’t bother reading it. I could do that some other time when I wasn’t in such a hurry. Unfortunately for me, the author had been lazy and had only recorded four runewords. Four good runewords, yes, but still. I guess several meant four in this case.

Maybe it was better like this. Maybe they limited the number because they didn’t want me to have too hard a time choosing in case I didn’t have all the runestones required to make every item. And I didn’t. So I figured I might as well be grateful that they had been so considerate. There were probably more books with more secret runewords out there. They probably also didn’t want to keep all of their secrets in one book. Bies would probably know more and tell me all her secrets after I rescued her under no threats of violence. It all made sense.

If I had to pick one runeword to use right now it would be Bies’ Wisdom for the simple reason that I had a weapon without anything on it and it was about time it did. I actually had two weapons that needed something on it, but I couldn’t make the runeword twice, and I wasn’t sure if after making Bies’ Wisdom I’d have the right stones to craft any of the runewords I got from Jagoda. Or Bies’ other ones. I didn’t know!

It also didn’t help that I left all the runestones with Vasil because I didn’t feel like carrying them around. The stash had become quite large and it just didn’t feel practical to have everything on me. Now that Vasil wasn’t here it suddenly felt a lot less practical to store everything inside of him.

Then again, how often did I make runewords? Never. This would be my first time. Maybe it was practical after all, and it’s not like I needed to have the runeword right at that moment.

I heard some commotion from inside the bedroom and the next second Hubert came rushing onto the balcony.

He stumbled, bent over, panting, hands on his knees. “Lady Aurelia, there is someone who wants to see you. They said it’s urgent.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Who? What’s so urgent?”

Hubert raised his head. “I don’t know. They just arrived in town and demanded to speak to the mayor.”