“How did these people have access to magical items?” Amelia raised an eyebrow.
“Well, a lot of them were thieves, and they weren’t on the best of terms with the town guards. I can’t say exactly how they got hold of those items.”
“You copied this design beautifully,” she remarked. “That must be why you were able to cast spells as easily as you had. Still, making the tattoo into a vector for a spell is unique. Anyone could have runes like this on their skin, but they wouldn’t be able to do what you did with the fireballs. You’re just lucky the design was so accurate. I don’t know what might have happened to you if the tattoo had been poorly drawn.” Amelia’s voice had an ominous tone.
“What might have gone wrong?” I asked.
“I can’t say for sure. But items that have badly carved spell runes on them have been known to explode.”
“I see,” I said. “Well, I will have to be careful in future. I had no idea that drawing these designs on my skin could be so dangerous.”
Amelia nodded. “You will certainly have to be careful. Can you tell me anything else about what you did to draw this tattoo?”
“It was pretty simple really,” I said as I lifted the slaver’s knife. “I used a knife similar to this one to draw the design into my skin. Then I poured the ink into the marks on the skin and allowed it to dry.”
“What sort of ink was it?” Amelia asked.
“I’m not sure exactly,” I said. “A... friend brought it to me.”
“The same one with the wand?”
“No,” I answered. “A different friend. Her name was Katlyn.”
I thought about talking more about my girlfriend, Katlyn, and decided against it. I wasn’t sure what my feelings were toward Amelia right now, but she was pretty cute, in a serious, scholarly sort of way. We seemed to be forming a connection, and I had no idea if I would ever see Katlyn again. Even if, by some longshot, I did see Katlyn again, she had always suggested I find more women so she could share me. I hadn’t been opposed to the idea; I’d just been busy.
I thought back to the night when I’d drawn the tattoo. Now I remembered, it was the sight of the tattoo which had prompted my foster-father Gregory to give me the needle-like dagger. He had seemed impressed by the tattoo and had told me that if I ever felt the need to do any more, I should use the fine point of the dagger for it instead of a regular knife.
“Katlyn said the ink was very special,” I continued as Amelia stared at me with rapt attention. “I remember feeling a strange sensation in my mind when she brought the ink into the room, but I assumed that that sensation came from what we’d been drinking. We’d had more than our fair share of grog that night, and to be honest, it was all a bit fuzzy. I went into a kind of trance while I was drawing the tattoo. I guess I just got really into it.”
Amelia chuckled. “Do you remember what the ink looked like?”
“I remember it was thick and sticky, and had a bright orange color, much like my tattoo has now. My friend insisted that it was very expensive and very special. She said it had magical properties, but I didn’t take her seriously at the time. I guess she was right.”
“Interesting,” Amelia said. “It sounds like you may have used the fluid from a Beast Core. A fire Core, to be exact.”
“Beast Cores have fluid inside them?” I asked.
“According to what I’ve read they do,” Amelia said. “If you can break them open, there is a fluid inside with magical properties. That is why they are so valuable.”
I looked at the Cores Amelia now had in her hand. “Any idea how we can crack them open?”
“Yeah, I’m not a hundred percent sure that’s a good idea,” Amelia said hastily as she held the Cores out in front of her.
“Give me one of the fire Cores. I’ll be careful, but we ought to try. I’m an Ink Mage—if that means that I can give tattoos, then we will need to work out how to do this.”
Her eyes gleamed as she dropped one of the Cores into my hand.
“What do you suggest?” she asked.
I drew Gregory’s dagger from my belt.
“How about this? It has a very fine tip which could be used to puncture the Core gently.”
Amelia looked again at the dagger. “Actually, this does remind me of something I read once. The Ink Mages had special tools for giving tattoos. There was a drawing of one of them… You know, William, something tells me your dagger might actually be made for this very purpose. Look at the hollow tip. It might actually draw ink up from the Core inside to the tip to create a sort of tattoo pen. Yes, I think this could work. If you’re careful, the Core shouldn’t explode. This is very exciting! If it works, we might be able to try out some more spells on your skin.”
“How would I know what to draw?” I asked.
Amelia held her book out in front of her triumphantly. “This book contains dozens of basic spell designs. I’m sure there’s something in here we can use.”
“Great! Now, all we need to do is work out where best to pierce the Core to get the fluid out.”
I stooped to the ground with my dagger in my right hand and the Core in my left. There was a large flat rock protruding from the path, and I moved over to the rock and placed the Core on it, with the dagger beside it. The Core
