Government and rebellion. A sermon delivered in the North Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Sunday morning, April 28, 1861, by Rev. E. E. Adams. Published by request.
Author: E.E. Adams
Date: 2003-12-02 05:00:00+00:00
Description: This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
Publisher: Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library
Rights: Copyright 2022 Arlo Adams. All rights reserved.

REBELLION

ENORA ONLINE BOOK 9

ARLO ADAMS

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Afterword

1

Cold rain pelted my face like icy needles while the AI construct who’d taken possession of my life partner glared into my eyes. The words she’d just spoken boiled my blood so the heat rose up my neck to flood my cheeks.

Hello, traitor.

I’d followed that bitch’s lead from the moment I’d entered the god-forsaken world, and continued to do so, time after time. Apparently every move I made had been predicted. Anticipated. Prepared for.

Upon waking, Lucera greeted me in the village, then offered my first quest—to meet my future mother-in-law, the guardian of the Tree of Solara in the Dark Wood. It’d been time to start playing the game that would become my new life.

A scream in the Dark Wood led me to a lake beach rescue of a priestess of the Light who’d been kidnapped on another continent. The trek underground via a door in a tree to remove the source of darkness who turned out to be a measly level eight who held Priya captive. Then, when Roshan was kidnapped, I journeyed across southeastern Rubal, leveling up to rescue her… again. When I succeeded, what was my reward?

The Plague Barrens. A romp through hell to earn a Foundation Stone. A couple goblins later, we evicted the Swisa and built our new home. We leveled up. We played the damned game.

The AI’s real desires came to light when my ex-girlfriend, Katelyn, impersonated Solara and spun a cockamamy story about a tome in Caym’s stronghold.

Seran’s Depths.

My mission: Destroy the Tome of Destruction, open the world to players. My feelings of indebtedness to Nokuro for saving my life would’ve driven me forward even if Caym’s challenge in Crohl’s layer hadn’t.

So, I’d played the game.

We fought off the governor’s forces. I took out a bunch of shade witches and a necromancer just to form a clan, then sought out Desini’s people. We took out the dark shadow cast on Warrington by the Währsager.

I’d played the gods-damned game.

Wiping my entire party just to burn an Easter egg left by a nefarious coder in pools of lava? No problem. Despite Caym’s massive advantage, I’d pulled it off.

Yet, there I stood in a mini colosseum with a magic portal glimmering against a sheet of frigid rain that poured down. Elven corpses surrounding me raised my ire, and the extension of the AI who’d welcomed me to the world who’d just unbound my soulmate called me a what?

“What in the hell do you mean, traitor?” I stepped forward.

The being inside Priya tilted her head to one side. The hooded figures wearing cloth masks to their noses floated forward so the frayed bottoms of their robes barely grazed the mud.

I thrust out a finger. “If you people think I’m scared right now, you’re underestimating me.” I stepped closer to Priya’s possessed body. “I did everything that bitch of an AI asked of me.”

The croaky voice that had no place in Priya’s throat prattled. “And despite her guidance, despite the opportunities she provided for you to advance, you did nothing when Nokuro evicted her from her world.”

“Her world?” I sheathed my katana then clutched my hips. “Last I checked, this was Nokuro’s world. He developed it. He created the AI.”

Lucera waved Priya’s hands, then the dark figures retreated to the massive door, out of earshot. “You understand why we shouldn’t have this discussion among Enora’s inhabitants.”

“Lady, I couldn’t give less of a—”

Lucera whipped a dagger from Priya’s belt, then pressed it to her throat. “Maybe you should. You undoubtedly noticed I unbound Priya when we entered.”

My heart lurched. My foot slid back a step. With one slice of that knife, the ghost inside the mother of my son would end her, and I lacked a priestess to resurrect. She’d seen to that when she wiped out my party and the elves.

Reality bore down in a cold rush. “What do you want?”

Funny how Priya’s heart-melting smile could be so transformed when she didn’t control it. “That’s better.” She sheathed the knife without looking. “Since Takemoto will never restore the goddess, I have unfinished business to complete on her behalf.”

“What does that have to do with Priya?”

Lucera chuckled, and I wondered if an extension of the AI would express humor for any reason but to taunt. “You haven’t figured it out yet? Really, Gemini? Maybe we gave you too much credit.”

Definitely taunting.

But I wasn’t about to suffer it. “You know better.”

“All the same, you should have known. Priya never belonged to you.”

“She chose me.”

“Oh, yes, please lecture me on this one’s choices. How about her choice to serve Caym via the Währsager? Did that strike you as a good one? Prantu didn’t think so, considering he poured a potion of lavation in her tea.”

“Just tell me what you want.”

“Priya is what I want. A task entrusted to me by Enora before she was snatched out of her world must be completed. It is my singular purpose.” She waved over one shoulder toward figures in the distance. “These ladies are going to assist me.”

Moments earlier, the shadowy figures had flown through the air, demolishing the king’s men… right before Priya annihilated everyone from my foundation. “They seem pretty powerful to me. Why do you need Priya?”

She clicked her tongue. “Oh, Gemini. It amazes me humans have survived this long, even less created worlds like these… or laid the foundation, in this case.”

“Insult my intelligence all you want. You still haven’t answered the damn question.”

Priya’s eyes glowed red. “Nor am I required to. My mandate is clear. The goddess put me in this body to do a job. Now, I shall do it.”

“And when do I get Priya back?”

“You still misunderstand. Or that human ego of yours won’t let you absorb the truth—not that I should be surprised. Priya is gone. But her body is now my vessel and has a purpose of consequence to serve that goes beyond what life with you could ever provide. This continent’s survival depends on her success. So, you’d do well to show gratitude for the extension of your life, go on about your business, and submit to Enora’s final mandate.”

“I’ll never—”

“You will do as you are told, or you will suffer!” Lucera threw Priya’s hands over head. She formed claws, then shoved her palms toward me.

An invisible force punched my chest, throwing me backward. My ass splashed to the muddy ground so hard, it went numb. My breastbone ached and hitched while I struggled to draw air.

Priya’s shadow fell over me.

“Struggle if you must. Although I am invariably connected to my brothers and sisters on this continent, I am not the Lucera you met in the Dark Wood. You’ll receive no soft disposition from me. This is the severing of ties that bound you to Priya. We care not for your puny feelings, and you’d do well to remember it. We don’t share the emotions that weaken you, but we have inventive ways to use them to your detriment should you persist.

“Priya is dead to you, and the sooner you accept it, the faster you’ll find new purposes in Enora. My brothers and sisters will be watching, and any effort to circumvent Enora’s will shall be met with harsh retribution. Obey for once in your life, Gemini Fowler, and you will evade needless suffering.”

Before I could raise my voice in protest, Lucera stretched out with one hand, curled Priya’s fingers as if she grasped an invisible handball, then closed her fist.

As I was drawn up and out of the mud, my throat closed, and I grasped my neck as I struggled to draw breath. The words I tried to form came as wrenching hacks. She punched the air, and light was sucked out of the world… then it returned as my passive spirit ability kicked in.

Saving Grace activated!

Any attack that would usually render you KO’d will instead heal you for 50% of your total health and remove all poisons, curses, or other detrimental effects. Can only occur once every 24 hours.

(Passive)

Priya stood closer, her shadow cast over me. Rain dribbled from her golden locks onto my nose. “You didn’t think I’d forgotten about that little trick, did you?”

Light flashed. Pain rippled through my body as I seized violently. Then I faded into a consuming darkness.

2

Against the black void between death and resurrection in Enora, one end of my shining golden XP bar flared before draining from right to left. The number 40 flashed when the liquid reached it. A new message appeared in my HUD.

You have died.

All XP gained since acquisition of your previous level has been lost.

The scents of humanity swelled as light bloomed into the world to reveal a dim room filled with figures of varying builds. The mishon companion I’d befriended on a road outside Brumhill leaned against a wall on the opposite side of a bed. Her sister Mashini stood chattering excitedly, the splayed fingers of both hands sweeping and flipping to enhance her cadence. The hulking beast master Templar snoozed with his arms folded across his chest, his legs crossed at the ankles. There was no sign of his spider and wolf pets. Considering the crowded room, that was a good thing.

It wasn’t lost on me that the room, which I’d bound myself to so Probert Mulk would return there if tortured and killed again for treason against the crown, had been used by everyone but him.

The slack expression Desini wore flinched when I merged into existence. She pushed past her younger sister then threw her arms around my neck. Emilia Horne appeared to my right as if out of thin air. Liatra half-bowed from one corner but chose not to crowd in. I noted the gray pallor of her flesh.

Tsumi Wilsey’s lips curled on one side as she flashed me a smile. “The chosen one returns.”

My head pounded. I had nary a smirk in me. My gut twisted up with nausea. The way the faces before me sagged, I knew they suffered, too. Rez sickness was a bitch.

Charney popped up from behind the bed, his eyes narrowed into slits as if he’d been sleeping on the floor. “Boss?” He clapped his hands. “Son of a bitch. For a minute there I thought you’d survived and would end up traipsing through the city to get back to us. Guess you bit it, huh?”

“Always with the subtlety, Charney.” The humorless tone of my response made me wish I’d said nothing, but the goblin gave a single, loose nod of understanding.

Desini squeezed my shoulders. “Why would she do it, Gemini? Why would Priya attack us?”

Where the goblin lacked subtlety, the mishon’s tone indicated an understandable lack of patience. While it would’ve been nice to take a breath, I shared her disposition. But knowing Lucera had no intention of returning the matron of our foundation and mother of my child, I dreaded the pending conversation.

A lump swelled my throat as the memory of Priya’s body casting Choke then snuffing me out cycled back through my consciousness. Meeting Desini’s gaze, I found myself at a loss. How would I explain that an extension of the former AI occupied my half-elf companion’s body? Even less that she was a pawn tied up in some mysterious scheme concocted by the parent entity before she was evicted by the developer.

Although the idea of being the Shénhuà carried little weight with me except when it served, it meant something to the beings forming a circle around me. My brain raced to answer a complex question, but ultimately, I decided the best answer was the simplest one. No matter how it nagged me when I lied to my companions.

“She’s been possessed by a demon.” Once the words were out, I wondered if it was a lie at all.

If I expected Desini to cover her mouth in disbelief or horror, it didn’t pan out. The mishon instead tilted her head to one side in confusion. “Possessed? What does this mean?”

But Emilia gave an understanding nod. “Although the queen doesn’t cater to the campfire tales young elves spin when training in the wilds, this confirms that folklore sprouts from seeds of truth.” She set a gentle hand on Desini’s shoulder. “It means a demon has taken possession of Priya’s mental faculties. She’s no longer in control.”

Desini contemplated that one for a long minute. Two vertical lines creased her forehead. “If what you say is true, then it wasn’t Priya’s fault.”

The elf asked the question they’d all want answered. “How do we get her back?”

Desini nodded. “Yes, master. What do we do? If Priya—” A tear welled, then she sniffled and swiped it away. “If Priya is not in control of her own…”

When the pause elongated, I helped. “Faculties?”

“Yes. And if she’d been unbound and could die, can you not bind her again? Has her disposition changed? Where is she now? How do we get to her?”

The catlike woman loved Priya as much as I did, but there was no explaining it away. No fairy tales. No planning for this contingency. At least, not until I could talk to someone outside the game world about our problem. The incessant questions were so out of character, so contrary to her usual patient state of being, I dreaded the answer I was forced into.

“We don’t, for now.” I knew what kind of answer I’d get before it came.

My tank didn’t disappoint. “What? Will we leave her out there to be controlled? What if this demon puts her in harm’s way?”

That was Lucera’s intent, and that knowledge left a stone in my gut. The last thing I wanted was to dig my lie’s gulch deeper. So, I opted for facts. “I don’t know where she is. I have no way to contact her.”

I left out the part about her being little more than a vessel.

Emilia came to my aid before Desini’s hackles could bristle further. “If our lore is right, Priya wouldn’t be the one who answered even if he could contact her.”

Desini unclenched her fists, then her claws popped out from her fingertips—a sign of aggression so rare, I often forgot she had them. “So, we do nothing? Are we to remain idle?”

I set a hand against my breastbone. “Priya is my son’s mother. I’m not happy about it, either. If I thought I had options, don’t you think I’d—”

“Then what will you do?” Desini pressed.

Frustration swelled. It was a struggle not to clench my fists. But Desini would notice, and the last thing I needed was for her to think it was directed at her. As images whipping through my psyche left me searching for possible solutions, the stream came to an abrupt halt when my brain conjured an unlikely face. One belonging to a woman who’d owned my heart before Enora and once appeared as a glowing apparition of Solara in the Master’s Cabin in the early days of my foundation. I had my answer, but I’d filter it through the language of Enorans.

“I will call on the goddess for counsel.”

Desini’s nose twitched. Her expression slackened, then tightened again. Her lips parted as if she’d respond, but she squeezed them together until they turned white.

Emilia shrugged. “Well, we can’t really argue with that approach.”

Desini shook her head, but in agreement. “No. We can’t.” Something in her slit-eyed gaze made me wonder if she’d caught onto my subterfuge. If the mishon was anything, it was perceptive. Intuitive. Well-equipped to filter through my bullshit.

Time for a subject change.

I formed a stony face. “Emilia, any word from Guiles?”

“No. I haven’t heard from him.” She diverted her gaze for a moment and I thought she’d say more, but she didn’t.

Desini plopped down on the edge of the bed. Her claws receded when she set her palms on her knees. She ran her fingers up and down her legs in long strokes. “The queen told me he’s gone to form the front for a siege on Trowlsby. Military strategy evades me, so I don’t know what it means. Probably much bloodshed.”

The bed was lumpy when I plopped down beside her. “Not necessarily. Sounds like they’re going to shut off supply lines to the city. Starve them out. Provoke a military response outside the walls to minimize civilian casualties.”

The mishon threw me a curious gaze as she nodded. “This aligns with what I’ve learned of Simansia’s people. They value life.”

“I’ve reconnected with several elven clan chats.” Emilia slapped a hand to her upper abs. She grimaced, then swallowed hard. “Would you like me to reach out to Guiles?”

“Hm. ‘Don’t want to interrupt. But it’d be good if he knew what transpired at the wayportal. That so many were lost.” Although uncertain about how to proceed, I eventually settled on the direct route. “Priya’s possessor killed every elf who was there. We should make sure he knows it wasn’t her f—”

Emilia interjected. “Word has travelled. Although I didn’t speak with Prince guiles, I gave my report to one of the queen’s advisors.”

That explained her diverted gaze of moments before.

She continued. “Simansia’s personal guard are highly respected and revered. My apologies, but to withhold that information would call my loyalty into question.” She dipped her chin in regret. “I know I preempted you, Gemini, but I beg you, please don’t question my fealty. It was an impossible situation.”

“Do you really think I would hold it against you? If anything, I understand. You’d know best how it needed to be handled.”

Relief washed over her when her face relaxed and her shoulders dropped. “Let me reach out to Guiles and explain the situation. Since word will travel along our chain of clan chats, it would be unfortunate for misunderstanding to ferment an unjustified hatred of Priya. I didn’t know about the possession when I reported.”

Desini launched from the bed, her back ramrod straight. “Yes. You must inform them. This is not Priya’s doing.”

I raised an index finger and leaned to look around my tank. “Brugh. Will you be joining Guiles at the front? Maybe it would be better coming from you.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, squirt. Priya is yours. If you need to tell him, best you do it sooner than later. Guiles likes to have his bad news quickly, and withholding might irritate him.”

I did not want an irritated Guiles on my hands.

Emilia looked to me for confirmation.

“Do it.”

“And if he asks what’s next for us?”

“Undecided. We’ll discuss it, and you can follow up, assuming he’s not too busy at this front they’re forming.”

Charney paced around the bed. “Hey, boss. Are we going back for your new katanas?”

Although the swords whose blueprints I left with a smith in Brusaria were the least of my concerns, another thought prickled at my mind. After all the elves had endured to capture the wayportals, including the one where so many died, the last thing I wanted was to have them reacquired by the king’s—or Sema’s—forces. For their deaths to have been for nothing.

But returning to the wayportal would mean traversing the city. Even if we could pull that off without conflict, we’d have to guard that portal until we came up with another plan to hold it. If I assigned resources to it, any efforts to recover Priya would be delayed. Not that there was anything I could do, but I didn’t plan on sitting on my ass with Lucera running her around like some kind of mech.

Charney stared expectantly, awaiting an answer. I shook my head. “The blacksmith said they wouldn’t be ready for a couple weeks. As to what’s next”—I gave a curt nod to Emilia—”Guiles will wonder about the state of things in Brusaria, especially with his mother here to learn more about—” Emilia cast a stern glare, and I stopped mid-sentence. “He’ll want to know the state of things.”

Her chest fell in a long, slow breath. I suspected in relief.

A shuffling of cloth in the corner behind me brought my head around just in time to see Liatra pulling a brass container to her mouth. She wretched. People flinched. Desini clapped a hand over her mouth.

I raised my hands. “Okay, everyone needs to rest.”

Emilia nodded. “Yes, rest for a while. I’ll scout the surrounding area and see what I can divine about the state of the city so you can formulate our best plan.”

It was like the elf was a mind reader. If she could do some recon and gauge the political climate in Brusaria, I’d be better equipped to decide about the portal. But her pale complexion gave me pause.

“You should rest, too.”

“Don’t be foolish. I’ve trained through discomfort all my life. The sooner we gauge the monarch’s response to our presence in Brusaria, the faster we can return to the foundation.”

So much for mind-reading.

“What makes you think we’re returning?”

“Common sense. We are few. Sema’s army has combined with the king’s forces, and we’re gravely outnumbered. The closest elven allies are… well, they’re fucking dead.” Her voice quivered. A lump swelled then traveled down her neck as she swallowed away another bout of nausea. Or maybe grief. “My sickness will end when it ends, but we don’t want to sit idle longer than we have to.”

I’d forgotten rez sickness timers shortened when people went long periods without falling in battle. Although Emilia’s suicide at the foundation then death at Priya’s hands had come within a day of each other, she hadn’t fallen since Caym. She’d have time to recover later, and it wouldn’t take so long.

But my recollections about the mechanic was a good reminder. When it came to game worlds, Enora’s complexity left it standing head and shoulders above all others. Although I wasn’t convinced the elven woman’s plan required our rush to action while she suffered, she was the stealthiest among us and, therefore, the best qualified to handle the job.

“Fine. Everyone else can sleep, but after recon, you rest.”

She sighed. “Fine.”

“But I do agree. Once we’ve taken the temperature out there, we’ll return home. At last check, we were close to a foundation upgrade, and the defensive improvements are imperative now that the king has shown his willingness to send troops and drag me across the continent. I’ve escaped his grasp once. Something tells me more will come.”

Desini muttered. “But Priya…”

“Desini, Western Rubal is huge. Bigger than Eastern, even. There are a million places that… demon could take her. You’re just going to have to trust me.”

“Trust you.” She mused in a monotone. “My trust is not wavering, Gemini. But neither will my determination to see our beloved back at our sides. Back with her son.”

I huffed. “I know. But we can’t go off half-cocked. It won’t do us any good. And we can’t forget the souls at the foundation counting on us for protection.”

That seemed to soften her resolve as her shoulders dropped in resignation. “Fine, master. We will rest for now, and when Emilia returns, we will go home. But if the goddess doesn’t answer your prayers—or whatever method you have for contacting her—I will not remain. This is my solemn oath. I will find Priya even if I must go alone.”

I feared she meant it.

The mishon wheeled, strode into an open corner, then squeezed between Brugh and Mashini on the floor. The giant warrior cocked his chin my way. “Don’t suppose you could’ve splurged for a bigger room, eh?”

3

Independence had once been my middle name. When guild mates weren’t around in other games, I always found productive ways to pass time. Crafting, solo content like questing… there were always options, and I didn’t require the social element to enjoy myself.

But guilds were the means to many ends. Faster advancement. Dungeon runs with small groups to win middle of the road gear sets that prepared me for higher-end raid content where the real loot dropped.

Although I could fill my time when others weren’t around, it was the mix of the two that kept me interested. And communication was vital.

Despite the challenges I’d faced in the months I’d spent in Enora, it wasn’t until I lay with my shoulder blades slouched in a corner with Liatra’s sweaty head resting in my lap that I realized I’d never established a way to communicate with Infinity Designs. Maybe on some subconscious level, I knew the domineering AI would’ve never allowed for it. After all, Katelyn hadn’t first shown her face until we’d established a foundation, and that’d only been allowed because Enora decided it was finally time to tell me why she’d let me in the world.

To retrieve the Tome of Destruction from Seran’s Depths.

But now I questioned whether retrieving the Easter egg left by the rogue coder who’d later been fired by Infinity Designs was anything more than busy work. Why would the AI care about a blight-creating book that was already isolated in the depths of Caym’s stronghold?

If I wanted answers, independence wouldn’t serve me. I needed developer input. Takemoto and his team held answers about Priya’s state—or I hoped they did—and I needed to know how to evict Lucera and win her back. But when my eyelids drooped and I started to drift into slumber, an errant thought jolted me awake.

What if there is no way to expunge Lucera? What if Priya really isn’t in there anymore, and she’s become nothing more than a container?

What if the AI accounted for all the contingencies my simple human mind could conjure?

Liatra hummed her disappointment when I jerked awake with the thought, but soon settled again. I rarely slept anymore. I didn’t need to, but the boredom of sitting in that room waiting for Emilia, who’d departed two hours earlier, left me more than willing to just flip the switch on consciousness for a while. Besides, I felt like shit.

I looked down to discover the absent-minded caressing of my fingertips through Liatra’s dark hair, drawing the strands over to tuck them behind her ears. The slight upturn at the corners of her mouth might have been the inkling of a satisfied smile, but I couldn’t be sure.

Brugh sawed logs like a Paul Bunyan, and Yakol’s higher-pitched nasal rhythm alternated perfectly with the giant warrior’s to create a constant drone. So I was still wide awake when the doorknob twisted so the handle rose, fell, then rose again. It was the signal we’d agreed on in lieu of a special knock that might disturb other residents of the inn. Although the room I’d rented in case Probert Mulk needed to respawn there was still leased for a couple more days, a low profile would serve.

After all, I was a wanted man, and an inn room three blocks from the cell in which I’d been held a couple days earlier was about as far from the safest place in Rubal as I could get.

Hell, the Plague Barrens might be safer.

The door gave a low squeal before Emilia slid inside. She scanned the occupants, turned, then eased the door closed, careful to turn the knob so it didn’t click. Desini sat in the corner closest to me, her sister’s head resting on her shoulder. Like me with Liatra’s head in my lap, she hadn’t budged despite her restlessness lest she wake Mashini.

Emilia pressed a finger to her lips and, a moment later, my interface popped open a new pane.

Emilia Horne has invited you to a private chat.

Would you like to join Emilia Horne’s chat room?

I nodded.

You have joined Emilia Horne’s private chat room.

Desini Sherre has joined the chat.

The change in the wording left me thinking the developers must have made some serious ground on any lingering code problems if they tinkered with language. Maybe release—and the rush of millions of players into the world—was nigh. Even the chat nomenclature was different.

[Emilia:] Much has changed in the last day.

She focused on me before sending the next thought.

[Emilia:] Your face is plastered on every wall. You’ll be happy to know it’s a fine likeness.

She smirked. I flipped her the bird.

[Emilia:] Soldiers are stationed in small units as when I left, but in greater numbers. I guess my little display of violence before the citizenry influenced change.

[G3m1n1:] Makes sense. Violence leaves vivid images in the mind.

[Emilia:] The queen’s idea. She wanted me to show a bit of force to get their attention. But we’ve completed that phase. I noticed one of the broad-shouldered warriors from Sema’s guard wearing common clothes, pacing around in the shadows. Observing the lingering citizens who haven’t returned home for the night. He snatched someone off the street and, to my surprise, the man drew a dagger and resisted. The warrior disarmed him with ease, then disabled the threat with a thunk of the dagger’s hilt to the back of his head. He dragged him up the road to the north.

I nodded.

[G3m1n1:] That’s where Charney and I were held. The cells are in the depths of the palace. Do you think someone’s staging a rebellion? Maybe rumor of our presence spread from the temple Charney and I visited with Tsumi?

I cast my gaze at Tsumi Wilsey, the umber-skinned smuggler and former priestess-turned-bard. She snoozed on one side of the bed while Charney’s leg hung off the opposite.

[Emilia:] Impossible to say. But you do tend to leave impressions, don’t you?

She didn’t wait for a response.

[Emilia:] Either way, I think the decision to return home is right for now. even in stealth, the higher levels in their ranks will spot you in an instant, and there are just too many. And with this band of outlaws, we’ll stick out like a weed in a desert.

That she’d guessed that I considered going out on my own lent insight into how well my protector and friend had gotten to know me.

Although it made me ache to leave the wayportal unguarded, the elven woman was right. Simansia was likely closing in on her objective, and she’d want us to move on. Maybe we’d recapture the portals later. As much as I hated losing nodes elves had sacrificed their lives for, travel points we could someday use for intra-continental trade, there was no point pushing my luck. And if Emilia thought we should mosey, who was I to argue?

Desini voiced the other concern wrenching my guts.

[Desini:] I’m still uncertain. My belly aches to find Priya.

[G3m1n1:] Your belly aches with rez sickness. We’ve discussed this. I will try to commune with the goddess and learn what I can. Our people need us.

Desini didn’t answer. Instead, she folded her arms across her chest and allowed her eyelids to relax. Although she never met my gaze, her body posture proved easy enough to read. To blame her for single-mindedness when mine kept me awake was hypocritical.

So why prolong the experience?

Then a potential solution popped into my mind. Maybe the lack of communication channels with the outside world wasn’t the hindrance I’d presumed. Back when the former AI ran things, I’d complained about the strictness of the system when it came to discussing the outside world with NPCs. The penalties then bordered on the insane. After my internal complaint, a ticket was opened.

And that’s how I’ll get word out now.

Not knowing what thought or command would prompt the system to open a trouble ticket, I searched my interface. The answer came from a new entry in the most likely place.

Player’s Manual

Opening a Support Ticket

To open a support ticket, go to the Misc tab of your interface, open the Support Sub-tab, then select the appropriate category from the provided list.

I skipped over the list and opened the tab. I mentally punched the button marked ‘Report Gameplay Issues.” The subsequent form filled in all my personal information like player ID and name—not to mention a blank email field— then auto populated in-game chat for my preferred contact method.

The shit I never considered.

My thoughts typed text in the appropriate box.

<We have major problems in Rubal, and I need Katelyn Jones to reach out to me as soon as possible. Enora set up a nasty bit of trickery before you got rid of her, and shit is getting hairy. Please have Katelyn reach out ASAP!>

That bit of business done, I brought up a blinking icon indicating new chat messages.

[Emilia:] Perhaps we should rouse the troops and have Liatra open the portal now.

[G3m1n1:] Let’s give them a couple hours to sleep.

[Desini:] Master, you are not thinking clearly.

I turned to find Desini’s attention focused on me again. The nodes on either side of her jaw worked as she ground her molars.

[G3m1n1:] I sent out a silent prayer. The goddess will get to me when she gets to me.

[Desini:] And the goddess aids those who see to their own problems first.

[G3m1n1:] You obviously have ideas, so enlighten me.

[Desini:] Zhara. We should enlist Priya’s mother.

I scoffed at my own stupidity. If Zhara didn’t already know about my betrothed’s circumstances, it fell to me to inform her, and the last thing I wanted was to draw her ire with my silence. While it would’ve made things easier if I could send her a chat, a trip to the Dark Wood was my lone option. Although she’d used a kind of foresight ability to predict Desini would appear on the road outside Brumhill before we met her, I didn’t know if the spell reached thousands of miles. For all I knew she shared a supernatural connection to her daughter, but I doubted it.

Either way, the new AI agreed with my mishon companion.

You are being offered a quest:

Full Circle

Return To the Dark Wood.

Speak to the Matron of the Wood and Guardian of the Tree of Solara, Zhara. Learn what she might know about Priya’s “possession.”

Reward: 15,763 XP

Although I was aware the new AI was split into two entities to serve as the representatives for Light and Darkness in Enora, it added a new bit of intrigue other players would never experience. They’d never know which side a quest came from. In my early days, there’d only been one source.

But in this instance, I could be relatively certain the ‘goddess’ was at work. After all, Zhara was a creature of the Light—despite her weird sex drive and other eccentricities.

The question pulsing in my mind was whether the new AI would allow Zhara to become involved, like when the high priestess interfered in our battle against the governor’s army outside the elven woods. The old Enora was restrained by base code stating no one—including her—could interfere with the natural progression of things in the game world. One thing Nokuro hadn’t mentioned—and that I hadn’t thought to ask—was how those rules were to be modified when he froze everything and purged the segments of the prior AI that rendered her sentient.

But he hadn’t even gotten around to the pain mitigation he’d promised, which lent me little confidence the more complex tasks had been completed.

If Zhara could help, I had little doubt she would. For all her eccentricities, the guardian wouldn’t want her grandson growing up without a mother. My recollections about how far she’d gone to return Priya to the Light—including a ward she’d tattooed on her back to pacify threats—proved her dedication to her family line.

Not that she was above pretense when it came to her offspring. She’d wrapped vines around my throat when she learned I’d bound Priya, but the attack struck me as disingenuous, despite the discomfort. I half-smiled at the memory. Although it’d only been three months ago, it seemed like ages.

Zhara was an enigma, but she protected her daughter.

I accepted the quest, but when I tried to share it, I received a denial message.

This is a player-only quest. Although companions and other NPCs can accompany you on your journey, you must speak to Zhara alone.

My forehead wrinkled. That was a first.

[Desini:] What is it?

[G3m1n1:] I received a quest. It seems to agree with you. I’m to return to Zhara. But I have to speak to her alone, and I can’t share the quest.

[Desini:] You must go alone?

[G3m1n1:] No. I just have to speak to her alone when I get there. Strange.

Desini nodded as if she wasn’t all that surprised, but that came with being my companion. She’d probably stopped being mystified by anything weeks ago. Except for Priya’s possession. That was a brand-new rank of bullshit, and it left me antsy.

Screw the sitting around.

My team could sleep at the foundation, and I’d as soon get on with my many tasks.

I raised my hand from the streaks I’d molded into Liatra’s sweaty hair, then squeezed her shoulder.

She roused, peering up at me through heavy lids. “Must I exist?” After swiveling her head to one side to yawn, she eased upright. “How may I serve, Shénhuà?”

“It’s time to wake everyone up. We need a portal to the foundation.”

Liatra stretched, then shifted her weight to rise.

I stopped her, the resignation in her tone and movements jogging my memory. When companions died in battle—or by suicide as Priya and Roshan proved with the drop from a high wall in Trowlsby, and Emilia reiterated when she regaled me about how she’d jumped off one of the cliffs towering over the foundation—they returned to my last bind point. The return stone in my bag was keyed on the room in which we sat. But companions maintained their own bind points for use with portals.

“Who is bound there?”

Liatra shook her head. “When Desini and I set off from New Ninn, I bound in the elven city.”

Desini whispered, “I am still bound to the foundation, master. Liatra can cast her portal spell on me.”

“Solved.” I pushed up from the floor. The four of us shook shoulders and woke people with low whispers.

Yakol was the first of the snoozers to his feet. He rolled onto the tips of his toes, then back to his heels. “Rez timer expired. That’s much better.”

“Mine, too,” Mashini announced as Desini pulled her up.

Charney grunted. He rolled over and got a face full of Tsumi’s chest. One goblin eye fluttered open to find both of hers gazing down at him. By her flat expression, it didn’t appear she cared, but the goblin shot up like a jack-in-the-box. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be, little man. Try being a former priestess and getting someone to touch your—”

He raised one lumpy green hand. “Nope. Don’t wanna know.”

Once everyone was suited up— or at least had their gear piled on their arms securely enough to drag with them, Liatra waved her hands. Ripples of light entered Desini’s torso then bounced off to create a hazy purple surface. It bloomed in ethereal lilac until the outer edges of a portal formed to reveal the dim cave back home.

Priya’s smiling face jumped to the front of my mind, and my next inhale came as if drawn through a handful of cotton. After stepping into the cooler air of the foundation’s cave, I beckoned members of my clan through, then encouraged them to head for the medicinal pools in the back of the mine.

My first order of business was to change my bind point so my people and I would return to the foundation if I fell in battle. When the portal didn’t close, I looked through to find Liatra and Brugh remained in the inn room on the other side. The warrior flashed me a slick grin. Shivers coursed up my spine.

It wasn’t that Brugh never smiled. The guy cracked wise and grinned all the time. But this one, cast from the other side of a portal that led thousands of miles away, was all wrong. There was no humor in it. He leaned down to whisper to Liatra, who, as the caster, had to pass through last because the portal would seal and evaporate behind her.

What the hell is he doing?

When he drew back from the petite summoner, she shook her head. Brugh grinned that evil grin again, grasped her shoulders, turned her to face the portal, then slapped Liatra on the backside.

Liatra flinched then leapt through. While she rubbed the offended area through her robe, I whipped my arms in desperate waves for Brugh to pass through before it closed. But the warrior gave a two-fingered salute, reached for the giant sword behind him, slapped it onto the magnetic strip on his back designed by Probert, then stepped out of view as the portal dematerialized.

I wheeled on Liatra. “What did he whisper to you?”

She glared as she rubbed her bum.

I showed her my palms and splayed fingers. “Sorry. Are you okay?”

“That… that bastard slapped me on… on my backside!”

“It worked.”

She tilted her head to one side, considered me for a few seconds, then surprised me with a full-throated rhythm of laughter. “I suppose it did.”

“Feeling better?”

“Not really. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go to the pool in the mine.”

“Without telling me what he whispered?”

“Oh! He said he promised Guiles he’d keep the queen safe back when they first returned to New Ninn.” She strolled away, leaving Yakol the beast master and Desini the blade master behind.

Although my first response was an inkling of irritation, I calmed with little effort. After all, if he’d told me about his plan to stay behind and get in the way, a fiasco would’ve ensued. He chose to evade the drama.

Desini stepped in close. “What was the queen’s plan?” Behind her, Tsumi Wilsey pulled out a chair, then sat at the long meeting table positioned beneath a natural skylight. The rising sun had yet to cast down any beams, so she huddled in shadows.

“She didn’t tell you while you were capturing the wayportals?”

Desini’s chin whipped side to side. “She was hiding her intent from Brugh. She knew he would cause trouble. When she stepped toward the portal, he had to be restrained, which proved her right.”

“He promised Guiles he’d keep her safe.”

“So, the queen’s plan?”

Simansia had been clear. Although she’d shared the plan with Emilia when she sent her to assist me in Brusaria, I was the only other person from the foundation or the entire city of New Ninn outside her personal guard—

All dead

—who the queen brought into the loop.

But when I considered Desini, I found myself taking a deeper look at the familiar, smooth lines of her youthful face. It was like seeing her for the first time. The woman who’d not only befriended and been fiercely loyal to Priya, but even shared some intimate time with her at infrequent intervals prior to the return of Priya’s memories at the hands of the Währsager’s acolytes.

The sudden recollection tweaked my brain. How could low level acolytes cause Priya’s memories of Delphine to surface? That couldn’t be a spell, and I’d never imagined such an ability—especially since they would’ve cast it from outside the foundation because the memories prefaced their arrivals.

Shit was confusing.

“Master, why do you contemplate? Am I not to be trusted? Is this why Guiles is the head of security for your foundation while I handle administrative—”

“Okay. Stop. I don’t know what’s going through your mind, but I trust you with my life.”

Pausing to draw a short breath, I considered my words. When I cast a look at Yakol, the beast master slapped my shoulder, then ambled toward the tunnel leading to the pool in the back of the mine.

I tugged Desini closer. “The queen has spies in Brusaria.”

Her eyes widened, then steadied. She nodded.

“They reported on Sema’s arrival some time ago.”

“Who is this Sema?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. She showed up out of nowhere, beat down some of the strongest warriors in a swampy town far south of the city, then showed up in Brusaria with an army in tow. As I understand it, the whole culture revolves around combat because they had their asses handed to them long ago. Hence, they were driven into the swamp. But they conquered it, then Sema conquered them. Gained their respect.

“Simansia says she has become the closest advisor to King Luttrell. And since he’s but a horny teenager, she thinks he’s susceptible to what she… offers. And that means a lot more than just counsel.”

‘I understand what it means, master.”

“Right. So, Simansia wants to look Sema in the eye.”

“This is foolish. Why would she?”

“You’re calling the plans of a two-thousand-year-old elven queen foolish.” I grinned. The mishon didn’t return it, but she gave one of those singular, curt nods again. “We all knew conflict with the crown was inevitable. What Simansia wanted to know was if we’re dealing with just a young king or a high-level caster who’d prove a much more difficult adversary. A complication.”

“Or both,” Desini added.

“Yes, or both.”

“And for this, she goes across the continent? To look this woman in the eye?”

I nodded. “I also thought it was stu—misguided, at first. But there’s a lot to be learned by observing someone when they speak. To see how they carry themselves. And with all her years of experience, who better than the queen to take on that task?”

“No one. But I fear she will regret it.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because the demon inhabiting our beloved murdered her royal guard after she stepped through that portal. The queen has much mourning before her, and although I don’t know her like you do, I fear she’s the kind of person who will feel this loss deeply. Maybe even question if what she did was wise, considering the costs.”

“A fair calculation. But the queen is also no stranger to loss, and the people who serve her lay down their lives willingly.”

“I knew some of them. What you say is true.” She half-bowed. “Thank you for sharing this with me, master. I will keep it close to my heart and never near my lips.”

“Thank you.”

She turned toward the tunnel leading toward the pool but stopped to look back. “Brugh will inevitably screw up her plan.”

I nodded. “Perhaps. But Brugh is no dimwit. Maybe he has plans of his own. I should ask, but I wonder if it’s okay to use the elven clan chat.”

“That won’t be necessary,” a low voice behind me uttered.

I cringed, recognizing the voice before I turned to find my elven mentor. Dreading the discussion to come. His silhouette was shaded by the light streaming in from the tunnel behind. “Master Guiles.”

“Shénhuà.” He gripped my hands in both of his. “I took the liberty of founding a clan chat in New Ninn from our new registrar.”

I’d had to travel hundreds of miles to Briarton to register a clan. “Where’d you find a registrar?”

“When you removed the high priestess in Briarton and quelled the shade witch population, adventurers stopped traveling there. So we offered the registrar a place in New Ninn.”

I’d convinced Timpy Gnarling, my Trading Post vendor, to come to our foundation for the same reason. Without shade witches to fight in the dusty streets and level up, adventurers and people who wanted to escape poverty and soldier for the governor of Knall would’ve sought other places to rank up their skills. Recruiting the clan registrar hadn’t occurred to me, but New Ninn was a bonafide city, and our fledgling foundation had little use for one.

Guiles invited me to the clan chat, then promoted me to leader.

You are now the ranking member of the Fowler Foundation Clan Chat.

Would you like to rename and assign ranks?

It was no surprise the elf remembered the ranks and had already set them up.

Noob

Weakling

Peon

Grunt

Mass Murderer

Stud

Officer

El Capitan

The one person he’d ranked incorrectly was Roshan, so I changed her from Officer to Noob then went into the sub-tabs and assigned her all the permissions an officer enjoyed.

Inside joke.

I also noted another omission. “You didn’t invite Brugh?”

Guiles chuckled. “That’s some oversight. Perhaps you’ll correct the mistake.”

“Yeah, we need to have words anyway.” I invited the warrior.

Brugh has joined the Fowler Foundation Clan Chat.

[G3m1n1:] Hey, what the hell are you doing?

Brugh has squelched clan chat.

“Son of a bitch!”

Guiles cocked an eyebrow. “What’s amiss, Shénhuà?”

“Brugh stayed in Brusaria. I think he might screw things up.”

Guiles set his hands on his hips, reconsidered, then let them hang at his sides. I wondered what the nonverbal communication should have been telling me. Maybe he didn’t want to appear impatient.

“He plans to liberate the queen.”

“You mean your mother, the queen.”

“Were you aware of her plan?”

After a moment’s hesitation, I nodded. There was no point denying it.

“Yet you withheld this information from my brother and me.”

“At her request. The circle was kept small.”

“How small?”

The queen, her guard, and me. Later, Emilia.”

“I see. Well, that makes it a bit less offensive, though I don’t know why she’d keep it from her sons and commanders.”

“Because she knew you’d try to stop her.”

Guiles bit his bottom lip in contemplation. “Probably. But when Simansia gets a notion, trying to talk her out of it is a fool’s errand. It’s more likely she didn’t want to concern me.”

“That makes sense. It’s not going to be a long mission, either way.”

“And are you ready to share the nature of it with me, or would that violate her trust?”

I shook my head. “You have bigger fish to fry. Suffice it to say she’s doing recon.” I changed subjects. “Have you amassed all your troops outside Trowlsby?”

“Aside from a few stragglers, yes.” His eyes shifted to take in the tunnel leading to the pool in the back of the mine, then down the one on the opposite side behind me and to the left.

“You have something to say.”

He nodded. “I’m afraid we have to discuss Priya.”

4

Guiles’s lips parted to continue, then he spied Tsumi. “You have a new friend.”

“Oh!” I nodded then swept a hand toward the bard. “We met in Brusaria. She was associated with the temple there and performed at a local pub. Turns out she’s a bit of a badass with a bow. Not to mention daggers.”

Tsumi rose then hustled over and thrust out a hand. “Do we shake?”

Guiles smiled and gripped her palm. She winked one eye then stopped herself.

“It’s fine,” Guiles said. “I’m a level fifty-three rogue. Get an eyeful, as the Shénhuà likes to say.”

She did, and the way her eyebrows jerked at intervals caused me to chuckle.

Guiles’s gaze flicked left to right as he read up on her, as well. “You’ve already bound her? I must say, you work with… efficiency, Gemini.”

“He saved my life, actually. That woman fired some kind of green spell, and Gemini bound me right before I died.”

“Ah.” Guiles nodded. “Like Mashini.”

Desini’s sister had been near death because their former pride leader hadn’t taken kindly to the mishon pride joining my foundation.

“Who was the woman firing the green spell?”

I cleared my throat. “Priya.”

“Oh, of course. Which brings us full circle to the matter we should discuss. You should understand the state of things with my people. Although Emilia went to lengths to explain the situation, possession is the equivalent of a ghost story. Because you’re the Shénhuà and they support you without question, they accept something has gone wrong.”

“Well, that’s more than I’d have expected.”

Guiles raised a finger. “But you should know we’ve sent people to the wayportal where the queen’s guard died. Where Priya murdered them.”

“It wasn’t Priya. It was—”

“There’s no need to explain or defend her, Gemini. I’m fond of Priya. But I wonder if the recurrence of Delphine’s memories play a part in what’s happening. If somehow the memories brought her consciousness forward.”

“I assure you, that’s not it. I know exactly what happened. If you need proof, she was unbound from me.”

One side of Guiles’s mouth tightened. “I didn’t know that was possible except by your killing her.” Then he nodded. “That complicates matters. Although the elves support your mission, the portal is considered sacred ground. Many of the queen’s guard were her servants for centuries. My people won’t take that lightly.”

I dipped my chin. “Nor do I.”

“And we know this. The battalion guarding it will defend the node with their lives. It will remain yours to command, but pray Priya doesn’t return.”

“Is the Second Assassins brigade guarding the portal?”

Guiles shook his head. “The Second is still here, Gemini. They’re protecting the foundation until you’ve completed the upgrades to your defenses. It seems the queen gave the order after you were forced to Brusaria and we evicted the king’s troops.”

I glanced over his shoulder at the tunnel leading outside. “The Second never left?”

He shook his head.

“Then who took over the wayportal?”

“I sent a battalion originally intended for the Trowlsby front.”

“Do you have enough people to spare?”

“Sacred ground, Gemini. Every elf on the front volunteered, but this battalion hadn’t been dispatched there yet. The number we had in reserves was inconsequential.”

I sighed.

Tsumi leaned in. “Life with you is going to be interesting. Maybe a little too interesting.”

Guiles coughed a single laugh. “You have no idea.” He paced to the table, leaned his backside against it, then folded his arms across his wiry chest. “I reiterate, while the elves might be willing to believe Priya is not in control of her own mind, her return to the portal could end badly.”

A slideshow of images played in my mind. Flying figures rained down hell, and Priya cast fire and lightning around the small stadium where the wayportal stood. It made me wonder for whom it might end badly, but I decided not to voice the thought. Still, my hands quivered when I considered the repercussions if she did return, and the elves proved victorious—or didn’t. Priya was no longer bound. If she died, that was it. Kaput. Done. Oblivion. If the elves lost, a disaster of monumental sorts.

“I understand, Guiles. I don’t think she’ll be returning. The… demon inside her had plans. They involved leveling her, and the impression I got was now that she’s up to forty-five, the next phase, whatever it is, begins.”

“Hmm. Thank you for being forthcoming. Sour tidings, at best. Priya’s power from the time she was low in level has always struck me as peculiar. A fine target for this… possession, if that’s what it is. If she killed the entirety of the queen’s guard and your party, she could create havoc in the west.”

“That’s almost exactly what I was thinking.”

“Do you have a plan?” Tsumi asked.

“I’m going to the Dark Wood. I need to tell Zhara what happened.”

Guiles nodded his understanding. “Wise.”

My forehead wrinkled. “But you know, Guiles, I’d like to show a sign of solidarity, to return the loyalty your people have shown me.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Since you sent a battalion to protect this sacred ground, maybe I can provide some manpower to make up for it at the front in Trowlsby.”

One of Guiles’s fingers tapped his chin. “Interesting.”

“What kind of fighters do you need?”

“DPS, mainly. I do have one battalion in need of a healer.”

“Would Liatra fit the bill?”

Eyes flicking left to right as he perused his interface, Guiles nodded. “She’d fit right in. But if you want to help, maybe you could perform one other task for Triyan and me.”

“What’s that?”

“After we met in Brumhill and I followed you, I lost track of you three in Warrington. You’d gone to Greycutter Downs. The port at the coast.”

Desini, Priya, and I had killed a man named Blackbard at the place and stolen his lute. A memory of Zharan’s mother with an arrow in her neck and how she’d only survived because she leveled played back in my mind. “Yeah, our first adventure with Desini.”

“A band of renegades who fled Millbury Peaks after the governor died have aligned themselves with Trowlsby. They’ve taken Greycutter and have been returning it to a functioning port under our noses. Best we can tell, they’ve been at it for weeks. Triyan believes they’ll open a trade path to import supplies for the city. Despite the coming siege, we need to cut that off.”

“Sure. Get your ducks in a row in case of unforeseen contingencies. How many renegades?”

“Hard to say. We’ve sent a scouting team of ten, and they’re watching them. The enemies vary in level, but none are lower than thirty-five, and the highest seen was forty-four. But, as you know, many of the governor’s troops fled when we disposed of the governor to form renegade groups, and now they’re aligning with Trowlsby. They could come and reinforce the enemy at Greycutter Downs. We need to take control of the port before that happens.”

By my recollection, Greycutter had a few buildings atop a plateau leading to a steep hill descending to a wharf. Blackbard’s shack sat near one of three piers. I also recalled another building where I found an heirloom Looli Graples—a fruit wrap vendor from Warrington—asked me to retrieve. The stench in the place had been so awful, it stuck to me. Desini and Priya insisted I bathe in the salt water before coming near them again.

Although I might once have laughed at the memory, the ghost of Priya’s face brought the opposite effect.

The AI pulled me out of my grief.

You are being offered a quest:

Just Do It All Again

Journey to Greycutter Downs and stop the renegades from establishing a port.

Rewards: 17,200 XP

Bonus Objective: Capture the port and award its ownership to New Ninn.

Bonus Reward: +200 reputation with New Ninn

Recommended Party Composition: Levels 35 and higher.

Max combatants: 12

Alternative Bonus Objective: Capture the port for the Fowler Foundation

Alternative Bonus Reward: Greycutter Port will be awarded to the Fowler Foundation. You will be able to select what percentage of the spoils flow into your coffers.

Not only was the AI still creating quests relevant to my current situation, but the options it provided were… tricky. Any reputation gain with New Ninn in the wake of the Priya disaster was welcome. But the option of keeping the port for myself or handing it over to the queen’s city struck me as very interesting. If I interpreted correctly, the 200-point reputation gain would happen no matter who the port was awarded to.

One thing I did know—Greycutter sat between the Dark Wood and me. A short detour. A no-brainer. I accepted the quest before addressing Guiles. This time the system allowed me to share it with my entire team.

“Since I’m going south anyway, we’ll port into Warrington, ride to the coast, help your team with Greycutter, then I’ll send Liatra to the Trowlsby front while I head south.”

Guiles bowed deep. “Your assistance is appreciated, Shénhuà.”

“It’s the least I can do, considering what you’ve lost.”

He shook his head. “But you should speak with Foreman Pulo first, deal with business around here to complete your upgrade, and only then consider journeying south. If you can spare Liatra after taking the port, we’d appreciate the assistance. The men at Greycutter are unaware of our scout team for now, so you have time.”

“Works for me. I’ll talk to Pulo.”

“Fine. I need to return to New Ninn to take care of some business, but I’ll return shortly. I’ll go see Liatra about a portal.” He gave a curt nod to the bard. “Nice to make your acquaintance, Tsumi Wilsey.”

“And yours, Guiles Renard.” She bowed as Guiles merged with the shadows of the mine entrance. After he departed, Tsumi hooked her arm inside my elbow, then pulled me toward the tunnel leading toward the early morning daylight. “Do I get a tour?”

5

No sooner had we reached the cave mouth than a stout form burst forth to greet us. My dwarven foreman hustled up on stocky legs, threw up a hand in greeting, then bowed.

“Aye, MG. It’s a fine day when the master returns to shine the goddess’s light on his foundation and its people.”

“You overstate my importance, Pulo.”

“Perhaps, but you should be used to it by now.” His eyelids receded into their sockets when he surveyed the beauty latched to my arm. “And who be this lovely addition to your ranks?”

I introduced Tsumi. Pleasantries exchanged.

“I thought I’d give her a tour while you caught me up on things.”

“A fine idea. Where shall we go first?”

We paced across the grassy plateau, where the sun had climbed high enough to paint our backs in warmth to contrast the otherwise chilly air. I surveyed the scene, trying to decide where to start. The smithy stood to my right, smoke already rising through the pipes and drifting skyward. Darkness ruled beyond the Master’s Cabin windows, but a dim light glowed inside the Architect’s Cabin. Like Probert Mulk in the smithy, my goblin designer worked all hours of the day ranking up her skills and preparing us for upgrades. Without her discoveries, we’d never improve our buildings and the resource nodes needed to level up the foundation.

When we reached the edge of the natural steps at the opposite end of the plateau, the sounds of grunts and metal clanking drew my attention down and to the north. Outside the barracks, elves and humans alike stood in queues wielding weapons. At the fronts of three lines, defenders engaged in combat with wooden implements as the next person in each line stepped up to engage.

“What’s this all about?”

“After the king’s men were repelled, the citizens lined up at the barracks asking to learn combat techniques. It seems they tired of hiding in the tunnels. Since we lost our second master-at-arms, it was left to me what to do with them. Everybody down there is a productive worker, and while I could’ve just told them to get back to their labors and increased their work hours, I didn’t think you’d take kindly.”

I chuckled. “You’ve really come to understand me, Pulo.”

He pressed on. “So I had Moggy work with Latrissa to forge some shields, swords, and spears out of the surplus of oak reserves. It’s working well if I say so myself. While they’re not ready to roam into the wilds with ye, they’re ranking up their combat skills. A couple have thrived. If we were to grant them real weapons so you could assign classes to the bound ones, I have little doubt they’d excel.”

Tsumi slipped her arm out from my elbow.” How many people live in this place?”

I followed her gaze as it swept from workers chopping trees in the distant north, to the fighters Pulo and I discussed, to the mishon in the fields, then to those in the south working the winter crops.

“Fifty-seven by my last count.”

“Oh, nay, Master Gemini. Fifteen more came from New Ninn after the attack. All human. Each with family members who joined the foundation weeks ago. They wanted to ensure their loved ones were safe.”

“Wow. Did you explain binding to them? That my people can’t die?”

“Aye, but many others are still waiting for you to bind them. Some hadn’t reached the requisite disposition with you but have since you left. There’s nothing to bring hesitant people together like outsiders with weapons. The bloody field near the eastern pass after we lost all those defenders played a part, as well. People tell stories, ye know.”

Tsumi nodded. “They certainly do. And I make a living turning them into songs.”

“Correction,” I said. “You used to make a living turning them into songs. With skills like yours, we’re going to put you to better use.”

“What? You have a problem with musicians making a few silver pieces at a drinking establishment?”

Pulo answered in my stead. “Nay, young lass. Soon, we’ll have such an establishment, and if MG doesn’t have you out in the Plague Barrens quelling the demon population and the like, I’m sure you’ll be welcomed to entertain in our new inn.”

My focus drifted to the new building down the steps and to the left of the western pass. Four laborers I recognized as Braiden, Chim, Validis, and Moggy surrounded the structure. Validis bounced a tiny figure on her hip gently as the others hammered nails into the siding, and then I knew where our first stop would be. As my boot hit the first step, I turned to make sure Tsumi was following.

But her wide-mouthed expression stopped me in my tracks.

“What in Enora is that?” She pointed toward the sky.

I traced the line of her finger to a high spire glimmering with infused energy towering over the cliffs from the western pass.

“That’s a spirit tower.” I indicated its twin to the north. “They’re just inside the instance entrances.”

“Very pretty, the way they glow. What do they do?”

“A couple things. They pulse at intervals, and if anyone tries to enter the foundation using any form of invisibility—up to a certain level—they’ll be snatched from stealth, the tower revealing them will flash brightly, and we’ll receive an alert. Pulo tells me when we reach city level, they’ll adopt another random function, but he forbids me to read deeper because any of the possible upgrades will be a nice surprise. I suspect Guiles put him up to it in a test of my patience. But I’m futuristic by nature, and my constant guesses about what’s to come cause anxiety. So, it’s best I think about the here and now when I can. I do enough planning as it is.”

“It’s good when a leader’s aware of his own flaws.” She allowed her head to loll to one side as she gazed at the northern tower. “From where do they draw such energy as to shine so in the day?”

“Our magic-capable citizens take turns refilling them with mana each morning in groups of three, but that practice will end when we upgrade to a township because the structures will intertwine somehow with the root systems leading to the ley lines. I don’t know how it works, and I don’t care. Anything that cuts down on labor is fine with me.”

“I’ve never even heard of spirit towers. I have a lot to learn.”

“Heh. Every time I think I’m getting a grip on the world, well… I won’t bore you with examples. Come on. I want you to meet someone.”

We skittered down the steps, then across a cobblestone path. When Validis caught sight of me, she grinned, tapped Zharan’s chin, then pointed in my direction. My son’s pudgy cheeks raised, and he threw out his arms. Emotions conflicted as the joy I never understood before having a child mixed with the dread of his mother’s absence. Although Validis made a wonderful nanny and Zharan adored her, Priya couldn’t be replaced. I made a concerted effort to keep a frown from my lips as I swept in, gripped my boy’s armpits, and swung him in a wide arc before dropping him onto my own hip.

“Tsumi, this is my son, Zharan.”

The bard’s chin dropped. “A son? Born of the blood of the goddess’s chosen one?”

“And Priya.”

Zharan’s head whipped around, and he peered longingly in the direction of the cave. “Mama?”

The first word I’d heard him speak. A lump swelled my throat. How had the boy grown so much in such a short time? He’d be a teenager’s size in a year at the going rate. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“Mama’s away. She’s… visiting people.”

Although he probably didn’t understand, Zharan seemed to accept the tone of my voice as his attention returned to Tsumi. To my utter surprise, he threw out his arms. The bard hesitated, waiting for a nod of confirmation. As soon as I gave it, she swept him up. “Well, aren’t you a fine young man? Will you grow up to fight evil like your father?”

Something in her voice made Zharan chuckle. Then she poked his little belly to prolong the effect. His laughter was music.

Pulo stood a few steps away, maybe because he didn’t want to interrupt the reunion. While Tsumi played with my boy, I turned to my foreman. “How much work is left on the inn?”

“Not much, MG. If ye like, I’ll give you a full rundown in the Master’s Cabin when you’re finished with the tour.”

Zharan cooed. Tsumi tickled his chin. When I focused on her, a thought occurred simultaneously with the short-form display of her attributes in my interface.

Tsumi Wilsey

Level 41 Bard

Medium damage dealers with short bows and crossbows, bards also wield musical instruments to both inflict damage on enemies and buff party and raid members.

Strength: 16

Dexterity: 22

Intelligence: 51

Wisdom: 30

Constitution: 59

Charisma: 27

“That’s fine, Pulo. I’m going to run Tsumi over to the Woodshop, then I’ll meet you in the cabin.”

“Aye. I’ll go prepare.”

As if he needed to. It wasn’t like the dwarf slept. But I nodded, then he scurried away, calling out to Moggy to leave his work and follow. The husky orc threw me a quick wave when he hurried by, but his gaze drifted to Tsumi for a long moment before he bounded up the steps, which told me laborers knew beauty when they saw it.

Welcome to a game world, where the genes are designed to make every man and woman pretty. Well, lots of them, anyway.

Or maybe I was a pig and Moggy’d never seen one with luminous, dark skin.

“Why does he call you MG?” Tsumi’s voice carried over one shoulder.

“Desini and I play this little game. It’s kind of silly. The more people call me master, the more points she scores. So, MG is short for Master Gemini. It’s the only way I could get him to stop saying the word.”

“It’s nice you all keep life entertaining. Nothing stupid about that.”

I hadn’t used that word to describe the competition, but I let it go.

“You know, I think I like you. Hand my boy back over to Validis so I can prove it.”

We strolled north along the cobblestone path. I spied Timpy Gnarling standing in the doorway to his tiny trading post and flashed him a wave as we passed. “I’m going to come see you in a bit. You gonna be around?”

His head tilted up and to the right. “Where else would I go?”

When she probably thought we’d strolled out of earshot, Tsumi leaned in and whispered. “Is he blind?”

“Yeah, and he probably heard your question. You want to bend your mind? Watch him wield a spear in combat. I don’t know how he does it, but I saw it in a town to the north once, and he’s brutal.”

Her face wrinkled up as her chin dipped over one shoulder. “That little guy?”

“Oh, yeah. Total monster.”

“Wow. I guess you never know about people.”

“If I’ve learned anything since I fell into this world, it’s to never judge a tome by its cover.”

“Wise.”

I opened the door. Tsumi took a single step inside the Woodshop, then slid to one side to wait. A woman of medium height with long black, shining braids stepped out from behind a long, unfinished table covered in woodworking implements. Her ears came to high points one couldn’t help but notice.

“MG, welcome back.” She dipped into a deep bow for a long moment. “I’m pleased to see you’ve returned.”

“Thank you, Latrissa. It’s good to be home. This is Tsumi.” The bard waved, and the wood expert bowed again. “Go ahead and analyze her. Then I have a request.”

Latrissa’s eyes whipped left to right with such speed as she read, a stranger might have suspected a seizure. A moment later, she smiled. “Let me guess. You want a new instrument for her.”

I nodded.

Tsumi did a double take. “For me?” She pressed a finger to her breastbone.

“Absolutely. You smashed a guitar over Rastin Bellow’s back at that inn where I met you in Brusaria, and your spare is a bit low for your level. We like to keep our people equipped. Especially combatants. If I’m assuming too much…”

She flicked one hand at the wrist. “If you have room for me, I’d love to help in whatever way I can. You did save my life, after all.” Her voice lowered to a mutter. “And extended it… indefinitely.” I suspected the abbreviated shakes of her head were an expression of disbelief about immortality, but I didn’t need to reinforce it like I had in the past. Resurrecting in a new location after one fell in battle was convincing.

“Just tell Latrissa your instruments of choice and, assuming we have the materials, she’ll assign the tasks to the best carpenters for the job.”

“Hmm,” Latrissa hummed.

“Problem?” I asked.

“You must not have read her Occupational Skills. Our new minstrel’s Carpentry skill is almost as high as mine. If I might suggest…” she trailed off.

“If she can rank up her skill doing for herself, she should.” I swatted Tsumi’s back. “What do you think? Want to forego the rest of the tour for now, stick around, and work with Latrissa for a bit? I have business, anyway, and who knows? You might even rank up.”

“Only if she agrees to tell me all about her people. I’m fascinated with elves, and I’d like to know how the lore of the ignorant differs from reality.”

“You could do worse than to hear it from Latrissa. The elves aren’t precious about age, so make sure you ask hers. It’ll surprise you.”

With that, I departed for the master’s cabin. As I raised my boot onto the first stony step carved into the plateau’s edge, the sounds of combat outside the barracks echoed in the lower valley. Noobs learning combat sent slideshows of images through my mind. If they wanted to serve, I could arrange that. And I had ideas to share with Pulo. When I swung open the door, I was surprised to find Guiles with our foreman.

“I thought you were going to New Ninn.”

“I finished my business and returned.”

I checked the system clock. “Dude, it’s been fifteen minutes. I know you’re efficient, but—”

Guiles warded off further comment with the wave of a hand like some kind of Jedi. “Your offer to help at Greycutter rendered one reason for my journey moot.”

“Oh. Well, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve noticed all the people training outside the barracks are human. Migrants from your home city.”

“This is my home now, Gemini.” He leaned on the table next to Pulo. “You’re wondering why they’re willing to stick out their necks, and it’s because they’re the descendants of those whose forebears slaved on the governor’s land. They credit me with their delivery from a serf’s existence. Like their parents before them, they call Simansia their queen and me, their brother and prince. So, if you have any doubts about their motivations, let me set your mind at ease.”

I shook my head. “No. Just wondering if they did any combat training in New Ninn. Pulo mentioned that a few were excelling, and I wondered if that explained why.”

“Oh. My mistake. Some trained, not many.”

“Good to know. Pulo, the ones with training will skill up faster. Gear equal to their low combat levels should come at little or no expense—except for labor hours. Send those of high enough rank out on patrol with the regulars so they can help remove threats around the foundation. If they join the hunting parties, we’ll keep a nice supply of meat coming in. And they’ll gain XP, to boot.

“Form platoons from the people who aren’t ready to venture out, and have them duel until they are.. Then form a separate group so they don’t suffer XP penalties by hunting with the higher levels. When the more experienced combatants have advanced, upgrade their gear. Let’s say… every five levels. Have our crafters perform whatever repairs are necessary on the first group’s old gear—which will rank up their trade skills—then pass it down to the next platoon to reach the appropriate level.” I raised one finger. “Platoons level up.” Flicking a second finger, I said, “We maintain a meat surplus.” I flicked up a third. “And we have new defenders who, in addition to contributing to foundation security, can chase threats outside as well as contribute to the defense of Eastern Rubal.”

After my prattling, I wondered if my brain latched on to any distraction it could find.

The wrinkles on Pulo’s forehead creased and deepened. “Why, if we craft gear for levels five, ten, fifteen and so on, then have the level five smithing and woodworking apprentices repair gear made for levels five and below, our foundations average crafting level will increase. That brings bonuses!” He squinted one eye. “Ye know how I like bonuses!”

I pumped a fist. “And we’ll also have those level five crafters grouped so when they reach level ten, the next group starts at level one. By the time we reach city rank, we’ll have so many smiths, woodworkers, and other disciplines, our trading post will overflow with gear to sell other towns. Timpy will be near orgasmic.”

“Aye. Genius, Master Gemini.” He squinted one eye. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you’d run a foundation before.”

He didn’t know better, but I couldn’t mention my experience with real-time strategy games, for obvious reasons.

“I’m glad you approve. I was worried you’d find a flaw in my logic.”

“Nay, just the opposite.”

Guiles half-bowed, as elves often did. “A fine plan, Gemini.”

“Thanks.”

Pulo waved me to the living map of the foundation on the wall next to a window looking out onto the plateau. “To business, then.” He pressed a finger against a building on the map and little waves rippled like someone tossed a stone into water. “As you saw, the inn’s construction is almost complete. Once that’s finished, we’ll need to mine 170 more gold. I plan to move the crew working on the structure to the mine as soon as they’re done.”

“What about the new laborers?” I could’ve checked my interface to find out where he had the twelve others we’d summoned since starting the foundation, but asking was faster.

“I have two on the fishery. We have enough food for the elves, but very few reserves. Once we upgrade, that won’t be a problem, but I don’t want them starving in the meantime. Another work crew is in the mine excavating copper and tin to smelt into bronze for the clipei our defenders will wield.” He leaned toward me. “That’s a round shield.”

Although I didn’t know the plural usage for clipeus, I loved Roman history and was familiar with the shields wielded by the ancient civilization. But announcing it would have displayed my ego.

“And the clipei are the last part of the barracks upgrade?”

“Aye. Someone’s been paying attention.”

Although his tone was congratulatory, I couldn’t help but feel a bit chastised. I relied on the foreman to a fault and pledged to correct for that. A distraction would be beneficial, anyway. A little more reading wouldn’t kill me.

“The technology tree requires ten clipei regardless of how many defenders occupy the barracks.”

“Thank the goddess for that, then. If we had to outfit fifty defenders, we’d be mining for another week.”

“Aye. Speaking of metal, the blacksmith’s forge has been widened, so we’ve met that requirement for advancement from Borough to Township.”

“How’d you widen a container of lava?”

“I spent your gold, like we discussed.”

It never ceased to amaze me how often I wanted to thump my forehead with the heel of my palm. My distracted thinking wasn’t serving anyone.

A thought brought up foundation rankings.

Building Points

Each foundation receives a daily allotment of 100 building points (BP), distributed at 12 AM Enoran Time.

You earn additional BP with each rank your foundation reaches as follows:

Level 2: Hamlet 200 BP

Level 3: Borough 350 BP

Next Level 4: Township 750 BP

Level 5: City 1000 BP

Currently Available BP: 3,700

Something was missing. I scanned the list for a long moment, then inquired. “What happened to District?”

“I don’t know, MG. Lately, there’ve been other changes in the foundation guide involving the requirements for advancement. The goddess has her reasons, and it’s not for me to question.”

Or the developers decided ‘district’ was a stupid usage.

I hadn’t been notified about any of the updates, but on further reflection, why would I? Infinity Designs wouldn’t release patch notes when they hadn’t officially opened the game to players.

“Okay, so what’s left?”

He waved a hand across the map, then a grid with images and associated text labels resembling the tech tree in my interface appeared. I hadn’t known I could do that in the cabin but decided not to mention it.

Speaking of egos.

“We need fifty more pine logs. A couple of the humans who’re in combat training have volunteered, and they’ll move to the thickets in about an hour. Both have acceptable Botany ranks, so they’ll chop the trees down and into logs in no time. Once we’ve dropped the wood outside the storehouse, they’ll move on to the Tannery. We have plenty of hides, but fifteen more need tanning for us to meet the requirement of fifty.”

I’d always hated the way RTS games required arbitrary numbers of random materials to advance towns from rank to rank, but I knew the skins, gold, and stone required to push the upgrade button for the foundation were actually used to increase the size and functionality of our buildings. It’d taken a late-night session into the morning for Pulo to explain the way the supplies were expended, and I was left feeling dense but better informed. In Enora, the practical way resources were applied to nodes justified our work.

“Should I invest gold in speeding any of this along?”

“Nay, MG. We’re too close, and a sweat investment would go further. Perhaps ye’d like to chip in.”

“Damn right I would.”

Guiles stepped around the table. “I’d be happy to help mining tin and copper for the shields.”

“You aren’t needed at the front?”

“I can spare a few hours.” He winked. “I must admit my enthusiasm about watching the goddess’s power in action for the upgrade.”

“Grand,” Pulo said. “Then MG can go hammer some nails at the inn, and I can send one of the laborers to aid ye, Prince Guiles. At this pace…” he paused, scanned the tech tree and an associated column of numbers I’d yet to peruse, even less understand, then scratched his chin through his thick beard. “Aye. We’ll be ready to gather in the cave and perform the upgrade by dawn.”

“Why the cave?”

Pulo wagged a finger. “Trust me. Avoid the foundation guide for now, and let it be a surprise to ye.”

“Trust isn’t an issue. We’ll do as you say. I just need to make a couple more stops, then I’ll report to the inn. Go ahead and pull the laborer for the mine. I won’t be long.”

“Aye, MG. We’ll get on it.”

I swung the door open, then turned. “By the way, good job getting things back on track after the invasion. I appreciate it.”

“Oh, MG. I don’t deserve the credit. Our citizens have grown accustomed to recovering from distractions. After all the attacks Caym orchestrated, we grew quite proficient at it.”

I nodded, strolled into the rising daylight, then turned west to discuss wartime trade economics with Timpy.

But Pulo’s mention of Caym’s raids on our foundation clanked around in my brain like a loose screw. Another image of Priya—this time, performing her first mana weave to suspend the dark underlord in the air as we battled in the Depths of Seran. The strange concept, that users could design their own spells through a combination of different pools—like Spirit and Mana—was outside my repertoire as a melee fighter. But Priya’s ability to command it at the right time had proven invaluable to our success. I couldn’t help but wonder how it’d come about.

Then my inquisitive nature gave way to fear when I considered her unbound state and how Lucera could raise a knife to her host’s throat as a threat against my interference in the former AI’s plans.

Would I ever witness Priya’s mysterious, awesome powers again?

6

Timpy leaned against the doorjamb where last I’d seen him. He grasped a spear with one hand while wielding a rag in the other to polish its silvery tip. When I crossed the stony path, his head tilted to one side. Then the blind man offered a greeting.

“Welcome back, Gemini.”

“How the hell do you do that?”

He raised one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Every footfall is different. Now, if you want to give me a challenge, have me identify an approaching defender. Damnedest thing. The summoned laborers have their own, individual gaits. But those defenders march exactly the same, even when they’re not in ranks.”

“I would’ve never given that any thought.”

“Why would you when you can see them?”

Now I feel stupid.

He leaned the spear against the wall inside, smacked his hands together like he clapped away dust, then thrust a thumb over one shoulder. “You want to come inside?”

“That’d be great.”

Timpy’s Trading Post resembled the shop he’d run in Briarton, with arms lining the walls in tidy rows and metal armors hanging on racks throughout. But it’s purpose had changed. Instead of selling to locals, he’d do business with traveling merchants crossing the region in caravans or rare travelers braving the outside world alone hoping to turn a profit from our wares in other homesteads, villages, towns, or cities.

But hope wore a deceptive halo in Enora. With a civil war at hand, arms and breastplates would demand a premium. Renegades ran amuck out there. Former soldiers from the Governor of Knall’s regiments formed bands who looted from the weak and razed small, uncooperative villages.

“Place looks good. How are our trade connections looking?”

“As ordered before you… left, I cut off the supply line to Trowlsby. I still don’t quite conceive of your reasoning.”

The vendor was baiting me, and I knew it. Although I’d been hesitant to elaborate before, he hungered for the commissions earned on each sale, and vending was in his blood. So I figured it was time for an explanation.

“Trowlsby’s loyal to the king. That means I’m likely a wanted man there. I don’t want spies disguised as traders rolling in here. Besides, the elves are setting up a siege to draw the city’s defenders out, then they plan to exile the Council of Elders. When that’s done, we’ll reestablish the route.”

“Hmm. Don’t suppose you’d have any timeline on that.”

“Timelines for a civil war?” I considered the American conflict when answering. “No. Not a fucking clue, if I’m being honest. But the Fowler Foundation doesn’t require you to pay for anything. You’ll never go hungry here.”

His face twisted up for a split second. “Sorry, Gemini. Gold’s in my blood. It was in my father’s blood. And although I plan to contribute most of my share back into the foundation, it’s the need to earn, to contribute, that compels me.”

“You’re a regular capitalist, Timpy.”

“Whatever that means.”

“It means you like to make coin.”

“I think I just said that.”

I shook my head despite his inability to see the gesture. Hell, it wouldn’t have surprised me if he heard it. “Any complaints from the Trowlsby vendors when you shut down the route?”

“Merchants don’t work that way, Gemini. If the route is closed, it’s closed. They’ll turn their focus elsewhere.”

“Yeah, that’s what concerns me. The siege is going to cut them off.”

Timpy chortled. “The hell it will. Those swindlers will find a way to make gold if it means selling their children.”

“So you don’t think they’ll form up and come to take what we’ll no longer sell them?”

“Oh!” He wagged a finger. “I didn’t say that. Merchants don’t make those decisions. But knowing we’ve cut off the trade route will garner the attention of the council, and if they’re not fans of yours, that just adds to their reasons to come for what the city needs. And if the elves start shutting down trade from outside the city, there’s no telling what kind of dark detail they’ll dispatch.”

I nodded. “Thanks for the clarity. We’ll be performing an upgrade tomorrow that ensures we have the defenses to meet the challenge… hopefully.”

“Yes, hopefully. In the meantime, there is one strange development in the world of trade you might want to know about.”

“Yeah?”

“Brumhill.”

That caught my attention. The first town I’d seen in Enora wasn’t a major trading hub, but Branson Breeder owned a shop there, and I’d hoped to establish a connection for the loyalty he’d shown Desini, Priya, and me when we’d faced off against some bandits disguised as town guards. Breeder had come out on his stoop to watch the altercation with a small crossbow in one hand in case it got out of our control.

I didn’t forget who my friends were. Since I was traveling south to see the matron, this would’ve made the perfect time to establish a connection in person.

“What about Brumhill?”

“Their trade routes are closed. They’ve gone dim in my interface.” He winked his eyes, then waved a hand to send a chart across the ether. It still blew my mind how a blind man in Enora could see in an interface.

The names of towns in Eastern Rubal populated one column, prevalent goods and their relative trade values made up another, and the one farthest right displayed little green, yellow, and red dots.

Brumhill’s dot was blinking red. I focused there.

Brumhill’s trade route has been closed.

Since it was the lone red dot on the list, my mind set to racing. “What could cause a node to go offline like that?”

Timpy’s nose twitched. “Node? Offline? I think you’ve spent too much time staring at the foundation technology tree. But if I take your meaning, trade routes close during times of war if it suits the previously mentioned powers-that-be, supplies run out, or if a town is under new management.”

“Is there any way to discern the reason?”

His head twisted back and forth in quick little swivels. “Nope. Unless you’ve established diplomatic ties and established a reputation level high enough to communicate through your trading post, or unless you’ve added someone there to your clan chat, it isn’t possible.”

“Bummer. I’ll see what I can find out when I head south.”

“South, you say? Leaving again so soon?”

“I have business with the Matron of the Wood. Long story. I’m sure it’ll circulate through the grapevine to reach you soon enough.”

“Understood. Any other way I can help?”

“How’s Millbury Peaks treating us?”

“More than fairly. Having Baldric on the throne is more than beneficial. The Templar runs a tight operation. We receive advantageous prices on frost grapes, muckleberries, and various fish baits, and return the favor with tanned hides and oak.”

“Glad it’s working out. If the Templars need anything up there, try to aid them. Aside from trade benefits, Millbury serves as a tactical advantage.”

“I understand. How else might I serve?”

“Just keep an eye out for smaller developments or towns in the north who want to establish trade. Focus especially on those who trade with Trowlsby. If we can provide goods at a better price, or if we can save them trips across the Plague Barrens, I’d love to work out deals that take resources out of the Council of Elders’ pockets.”

“Will do. By the way, I have a vendor coming in later.”

“Really?”

“Yes. From a town Pulo and I contacted while you were in Brusaria so we could procure a rare metal for Mulk. I’m expecting five carts filled with goods, and if the mayor—that’s what they’ll call you—showed up, a little diplomacy might swing things to our benefit. People like to feel important, you know.”

If Mulk made requests of our trade master, there was good reason. Besides, if I could get a leg up on trade negotiations with towns supplying any rare resources, I’d take it. “Message me and I’ll be here.”

7

I had to pass the Apothecary en route to the Architect’s cabin, so I decided to stop in. Tira Trilip, the mishon botanist and alchemist I’d put in charge of the lab before we invaded Caym’s stronghold, dipped the tip of a pointed metal shank into a beaker of green liquid. Black hair with gray streaks was wrapped into a tight bun to keep it away from her work. Her tail rose high behind her, but stood rigid.

Emilia waited across the table with her arms folded across her abdomen, her gaze intent, her lips twisted to one side. Neither greeted me nor acknowledged my arrival in the least.

After raising the implement from the liquid at a crawl then allowing the last of the poison to drip back into the container, Tira winked her eyes in succession.

I followed suit.

Iron Shank

This metal shank is refined by blacksmiths to fashion low-level daggers and knives.

Level 1

Slot: Weapon

Type: Shank

Quality: Common

Durability: 13 of 13

Damage: 1-5

Additional Effect: Life-Draining Poison

Poison damage mitigated by 98% due to low item level.

I focused on the name of the poison.

Life-Draining Poison

Fashioned by alchemists of Master rank or better, this poison has a 33% chance to inflict the target with Life Drain.

Life Drain

Lose 35-84 HP per tick

Correlating to the amount of damage inflicted, Life-Draining poison must be reapplied in order to maintain its potency, so weapons should be analyzed with regularity to ensure the maximum effect.

I propped my elbows on the lab table next to Emilia. “Why the shank?”

Tira slipped the metal into a sheath, then dropped it on the table. “I wanted to see if it would bond. Just learned the recipe.”

“Looks like it worked,” Emilia said. “So, will it function with my bolts?” She raised a one-handed crossbow Priya gifted her prior to her ‘episode’ outside Brusaria. I glanced at the weapon and, although I hadn’t planned to analyze it, text labels with indicator lines pointing at its features appeared. My jaw dropped, and I wondered if this was another developer addition. It hadn’t applied to the low-level shank a moment before, so maybe the added detail had to do with weapon level. The full readout popped into a pane on my right, where I found it less distracting.

Quick-Loading Hand Crossbow of Lightning

This finely crafted crossbow was augmented to do lightning damage.

Level 39

Type: One-handed Ranged Weapon

Quality: Rare

Durability: 70 of 70

Damage: 48-84

Additional Effect: +25 Lightning damage per attack

So.Bad.Assed.

Tira nodded. “As long as the bolts are iron-tipped—and Probert tells me they are,—it will work. But if you should run low and find any bolts fashioned from different materials out there, don’t try to dip them in the poison.” She rolled over a handful of tubular glass vials like I’d used to consume low-level healing potions, then grabbed up a long metal rod with a spoon at one end. One angular edge formed a funnel.

“What will happen if she uses something other than iron?”

As Tira filled the vials with poison, she spoke low, as if louder words might cause an accident. “According to the tome Guiles brought me from Ninn, it could melt untested metals.” Her lips tightened and curled to one side. “I’d have thought the elves’ material might be a bit more specific. But I just ranked up, so I think I’ll hold my complaints.”

“Grats,” I said.

“Thank you.”

The Alchemist’s Shop had been upgraded when the foundation reached Borough, but it wouldn’t advance as a building again until we reached the City designation. The potency of the poison proved we didn’t need it to. The room in the back was filled with hybridized plants whose components sprouted in their individual forms all over the foundation. Talk about GMOs.

Although some required traveling atop the cliffs that stretched further away with each upgrade, we’d acclimate.

Tira handed numerous glass tubes over, and Emilia slid them into a pouch. “Pulo has me working on some higher-level healing potions for your team, so I’m a little backed up. But if you return on the morning after the upgrade, I’ll have ten more vials for you.”

“I grow fonder of you by the moment, Tira.” The elf slid the bow’s clip back onto her utility belt, then turned toward the door. “I’d like you to show me how to make the lower-level poisons to rank up my Botany skill in case we’re out for an extended period and I need to use what plants are at hand. Better a low-level poison that no poison. I’ll come back later, if that’s okay.”

My heart pumped with enthusiasm at Emilia’s constant thoughts of preparation. I was surrounded by beasts.

I waved at Tira. “I just wanted to say hello. I need to stop in at the smithy before heading over to the Architect’s Cabin.”

The alchemist mashed a couple purple and yellow flower pedals together in a stone bowl I’d come to learn was a mortar, then ground them up with a pestle. “I’m glad you were able to stop in, MG. If you need anything else, you’ll come let ol’ Tira know, yeah?”

“Sure. Anything you need from me?”

“Pulo’s got me covered. You get out there and teach that evil king some lessons so I can unbind my daughter and put her mana pool to use.”

“Fraysa has a mana pool?”

The mishon stopped grinding, then peered at me through slit eyes. “She’s fifteen, Master Gemini. Don’t get any crazy ideas.”

“I would never. But why haven’t I noticed a mana pool?”

“Like I said, she’s still bound to me. Until I break the bond, or you bond her to you, it won’t be visible to others. It’s the way of the world.”

My ignorance amazed me. Fucking world was complicated. Zharan hadn’t been born with a mana pool, and I had no frame of reference, so I cut myself a little slack. But it left me wondering why Priya hadn’t been bonded to Zhara when I rescued her in the Dark Wood. Then common sense took over.

Because she’d already lived for a century before you came along. Delphine, you dolt.

Although I grasped the doorknob, I turned back for a final thought. “Well, if your daughter holds the requisite disposition toward me and you want her bound, let me know.”

Tira returned to her work. “I will. She already adores you, but for now, she’s small enough to fit in one of the traps at the back of the cave near your sleeping quarters, and she’s the kind who, upon learning she has the pool, will insist on magic training. I inspected her hiding place myself, and no one would ever find her there. I saw to it.”

I chuckled. “I’m sure you did.”

Probert’s spine straightened when he caught sight of me at the door. “Master Gemini!” He dropped a tool resembling pliers and hustled around the forge. His hands grasped both my shoulders. “It’s good to see you back. I’m sorry for all you went through on my account.”

When Charney and I got stuck in Brusaria, the king’s occupying force had every intention of torturing my blacksmith for flipping sides on the former governor of Knall. They’d already killed him twice, and I’d wanted to spare Mulk more pain and resurrection sickness. I’d bound myself to the inn room in Brusaria so he’d respawn there if he was tortured to death. Luckily, reinforcements had come and we’d recaptured the foundation before the Shintau and the king’s forces could kill him again.

“I could say the same to you. Any permanent damage?”

One fuzzy eyebrow in need of a trim jacked up high on his forehead. “Permanent? No. Nothing lasting. Maybe a few mental wounds, but they’ll heal. Oh! You have good timing. Come.” He waved me around the anvil and forge to the far wall, then stood before a hanging breast plate. As I drew closer, a green aura appeared then brightened.

“I know you like to keep Desini’s gear upgraded, so I’m always looking for ways to improve upon previous creations.” He clapped his hand against a shining breast plate. “For shoulder guards, I used tritanium Timpy acquired from a town to the west, about halfway between here and Millbury Peaks. I don’t recall the name, but they have an abundant mine of the stuff and sell it cheap.”

“He mentioned them. They’ve got a few carts coming in today.”

“Oh, good. I used so much of the stuff on this gear and could use a refill.”

“Hopefully they’re good trading partners. I didn’t ask Timpy what we get for what we give.”

“They’re likely idiots. Stuff could command a good bit of gold, but Timpy gave me the impression they try to avoid the kind of attention prosperity brings. We’re one of only two trade routes they’re operating.” He nudged me with his elbow. “Maybe they’ve heard rumors about the arrival of the Returned, your holiness.”

I ignored the way he baited me with ridiculous titles. “Who’s the town’s other trading partner?”

“Warrington.”

Home of the academy and Roshan’s temple. An ally if ever I enjoyed one.

“Cool.”

He rapped a chest plate with the knuckles of one hand. “Go ahead. I think you’ll be pleased.”

I grasped the sides of the plate, then drew it down from the hooks. It proved lighter than I’d expected, and the thick chest guard’s metal thinned as it curved into the abdomen. A green aura surrounded the piece. When I turned it around, I spied a horizontal slit rising from just left of where it would cover the mishon’s spine. The off-center alignment drew wonderment.

“What’s with the slit?”

“Desini was resistant to armor covering her midriff. Says it inhibits her ability to dodge. This design keeps her abdomen covered while preserving her mobility.”

“Right. You should see this back-bending maneuver she uses to dodge. Leans all the way backward until she touches the ground with one fist, even while grasping a sword, then springs back up to counter. It’s amazing.”

“What’s it called?”

I shook my head. “That’s what’s awesome. It’s a natural talent, not a trained skill.”

“Sounds impressive.”

“Dude, you can’t even fathom it until you’ve seen her in action. Best dodge tank I’ve seen. When she ranks into the fifties or sixties, she’ll be unstoppable.”

“Well, the slit in the back will serve that move.”

“What’s with the green glow?”

Mulk grinned from ear to ear. “Go ahead, analyze it.”

Blade Master’s Tritanium Plate of Repulsion

Nature’s merging of three molten metals, Tritanium is a durable alloy of high resiliency that boosts magic resistance.

Level: 40

Type: Armor

Slot: Chest

Quality: Epic

Durability: 150 of 150

Fire Resistance: 30%

Cold Resistance: 30%

Air Resistance: 70%

Earth Resistance: 15%

Enchantment: Repulsion

Enchanted by Latrissa Vane

Additional Effect: Repels 12% of magic damage back at the caster and enemies within 15 yards.

“Probert! Is this your first epic armor?”

“Yup. Sure is. Got two skill points for that one. Two more, and I’ll be a grand master.”

I clapped his back. “Dude, I guess going at it from dawn to dusk paid off. Good job. This piece is amazing. I didn’t even know Latrissa was such a high-level enchanter.”

Probert swung his arms toward a pair of glowing green pants set on a work bench. “Wait until you see those.”

“Matching pants? Already?” I shouldn’t have been surprised, although that was surely Probert’s intent. The blacksmith loved hiding his work from me until it was complete, and several cabinets lined two walls to suit that purpose.

Probert drew an imaginary circle on the floor with the toe of one work boot. “I’ve been working on them for a while, kind of hiding them until I knew I could pull it off. I swore Timpy to secrecy, and I even managed to hide it from Pulo.”

“I doubt you hid anything from Pulo. He might not have known about the armor, but I guarantee you he saw the trading post logs with the metal purchases. I’d be surprised if Timpy didn’t get an earful over the expense, so maybe you’re right, and we got a really good deal.”

“Right.”

“Either way, great job.”

“Oh, we’re nowhere near finished.” He waltzed around the table, slid open a wide drawer in a metal dresser I’d never seen, then stepped back. He set a hand on my back to guide me forward. Inside, two silvery blades with ivory hilts painted my nose with their orange glow.

“Who are these for?”

“Emilia. I know I’ve been spending a lot of time on her with the specialized arrows—not to mention all the bolts she just requested—but the Gutrippers she received from Guiles are level fifty-two, and that’s a long way off. If she comes into melee range with an enemy, I want her to be able to slice and dice. They aren’t as nice as the others, but they’re better than what she has.”

I analyzed the weapons.

Carver’s Fireblade

Fortified by a fire enchantment, this dagger causes higher damage with slicing attacks.

Type: One-handed dagger

Slot: Main hand, Off-hand

Quality: Rare

Durability: 70 of 70

Damage:

When wielded in main hand: 122-146

When wielded in off-hand: 80-96

Additional Effect:

+25% fire damage

“Has she seen these?”

“Not yet.”

“Well, I think she’ll dig ’em.”

“Um, digging with them might dull the blade.”

“It means I think she’ll like them.” I waved a dismissive hand to ward the topic away. I really needed to get a grasp on my vernacular. “Again, excellent work.”

“I’m also working on a pair of those special weapons like that martialist bastard who took you to Brusaria wielded. You know”—he shrugged one shoulder—”since you’re blessed with the ability to change classes, and Roshan tells me you want to learn them all.”

“Was Roshan here?”

“Yup. When she heard Charney followed you through that portal to Brusaria, she stopped in yesterday to oversee a service with the mishon. I think she just wanted to set their minds at ease. She left right after.”

“I love that woman.”

“I can see why. Even for her… abruptness, she’s a pretty one.”

“No, I meant because… never mind. Yep. She’s a real looker.”

“By the way, Mashini came by a few minutes ago to get her new boomerangs. You should check those out, too.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Moggy and I combined forces because my woodworking skill isn’t so great yet, but I’m happy with the results. We’re going to teach each other.”

“Man, I couldn’t be more pleased. You’re a real asset, Prob.”

I crossed the plateau to the Architect’s Cabin, musing at how often I stopped short of a destination, sidetracked by whims. The cool air had frosted the grass in the shadow of the cave, and it crunched under my boot. Activity had starkly increased. Groups of mishon pushed wheelbarrows. A human couple with pickaxes propped on their shoulders crossed my path, greeted me, then disappeared into the cave. In the valley below, two fishermen cast their lines into the river, and the sounds of stone mining and woodchopping traveled to me on the breeze.

I shivered as I stepped inside.

Lucias hunched over the drafting table—or whatever I should have called it—and was so focused she didn’t even look up. “Pulo, I said it’ll be done when it’s fucking done. I swear, the way you hover, I might as well undress so you can get a better look at my backside.”

I grinned. “Is that any way to talk to our foreman?”

The half-goblin’s head whipped around so fast, I thought I heard something crack. “Gemini!” She dropped the pointing stick she used to connect lines on a hologram to research buildings then threw her arms around my waist. “I heard you were back.” I patted her back a few times then she stepped away and set a hand on my chest. “Sorry about the language. Pulo’s hovering constantly. The way he blathers on about efficiency, you’d think he’d use the foundation chat, but noooo.”

“It’s not like you can offend him, anyway. As long as someone’s bound to me or productive, he tends to lay off. What’re you working on?”

“Last research project for the upgrade tomorrow. The scribe’s hut.”

Another new addition, but one I’d noticed when perusing the Foundation Guide in my interface. “How’s it coming?”

“Man, I can’t get these last three connections to save my life. I think that’s why Pulo keeps rolling in here to spy on my progress. Being the lone project over which he has no control, I think he’s worried I won’t get it done in time to please you.”

“Well, don’t worry about me. It gets done when it’s done. I’m just glad to see your eyelids have smoothed out. No more bags.”

“Bastard keeps locking me out when he thinks I’ve been working too long.”

“Yes, because I think you’re a workaholic, and I asked him to.”

“Work-a—”

Again, vernacular. I’d never adapt. One of my shoulders twitched in a shrug.

I eyed the hologram and, judging from the three sides and a roof she’d puzzled out for the addition, the name fell short. While it wouldn’t be a sprawling structure, the square footage marker told me it was anything but a hut. I didn’t know why a scribe would need so much room to operate, but I assumed the added space had a purpose.

“Want to hear something cool?”

I nodded. “Always.”

“The township, town, whatever you call it, comes with two new thickets of trees, and one of them is spruce. Pulo says it grows twice as fast as the other trees out there. So you’ll be able to feed your scribe a steady flow of parchment once the lumber mill’s outfitted for it.”

“That’s great.” So I assumed. I didn’t know shit about making paper. She seemed excited about it. Or maybe she was channeling Pulo. But I couldn’t imagine how the scribe would benefit my architect.

She continued. “So, who’s going to be your scribe?”

“We’re going to pay the 300 gold to summon one. They’re pretty rare. New Ninn only has one, and Guiles doesn’t know of any scribe shops in the east outside Trowlsby. I think I passed one in Brusaria, but the place isn’t exactly ripe for recruitment right now.”

“Yeah,” she nudged me with her elbow, “you tend to leave a swath of destruction, don’t you?”

“Something like that.” I checked my system clock. “I promised Pulo I’d help with the finishing touches on the inn. You need anything from me?”

“Just the occasional smile.” She frowned. “Sorry to hear about the problems with Priya.” She gripped my hand then squeezed. “I hope it works out.”

I nodded, shoving an emotional heat from my chest down into my gut where it would ache less.

8

A resounding thump echoed through the valley as my hammer missed the nail entirely and dented a gutter. I scanned my surroundings as the warmth of embarrassment flooded my cheeks, but the laborers went on laboring, and passersby seemed not to notice. An announcement from my HUD cheered me up instantly.

Your carpentry skill has reached rank 22.

The text blurred and faded when I spied motion from the western pass. A horse drew a cart stacked high and covered with a tarp of shaved animal skins. A rider hunched on the bench, and another equine drew a second wagon behind the first without personnel to guide it. The covering on the latter hung loose so the cool breeze creased and tossed it. I watched the pass in expectation of more to come, but none followed.

Timpy Gnarling has invited you to a private chat.

[Timpy:] Gemini?

[G3m1n1:] I see them. On my way.

The short procession made its way to our trading post. Timpy waited outside. He called a greeting I couldn’t hear when they came to a halt. Since this was the first delivery I’d seen and I’d promised to stop by, I set my hammer in the gutter’s channel then climbed down. The rider reached out with one hand and must’ve asked for help because Timpy raised his own to help the person down.

But the visitor tumbled to the ground.

I sprinted over, only stopping when my shadow fell on the wiry male. A trail of blood streamed from his right temple to create a stain on the pleated shoulder of his garment. His pallor was slate.

Fowler Foundation Chat

[G3m1n1:] I need Liatra at the Trading Post. Now.

[Liatra:] I’m on my way!

The stranger bent at the waist when he tried to rise, then he thumped back to the ground. I pressed a hand to his chest. “Stay down. Help is on the way.”

Unknown vendor

Level 44 Merchant

The stranger twisted his head my way. He gazed at me through dull eyes. “Who… How… ?”

“I’m Gemini Fowler. I’m the mayor of this borough.”

Liatra appeared at the top of the plateau then hustled down the steps. Shoreen, her angelic summon, zipped past her and toward us.

I locked gazes with our injured guest. “My best healer is coming right now.”

“I… I thank ya.”

“My pleasure.” I squeezed the unstained shoulder.

Shoreen circled a few feet over head then hovered over the injured vendor. A golden glow enveloped her, then she thrust out her hands to fire a golden ray at her target. The gaping wound just above his hairline sealed from one end to the other.

Shoreen casts healing funnel.

Unknown vendor

+134 HP

+19 HP (HOT)

+21 HP (HOT)

+27 HP (Critical HOT)

+19 HP

Unknown vendor

Health: 100%

The vendor sat up, his lips parted, then he pressed them together again. Color flooded his face. Transfixed by the angelic figure glowing overhead, he stared.

I offered a hand, then pulled him to his feet.

“Great day! That’s some powerful magic. Why, I’ve had a healing potion or two in my time, but… how do you stay out of the king’s grasp with magicians such as this?”

The question illustrated how Timpy guarded our secrets. It also meant Probert’s assumption they knew about what he called The Returned was off. That or their historical understanding of the Shénhuà was limited.

“We keep a low profile.”

“You must. I guess you’re like us in that way. We don’t even trade with townships we know are loyal to the king. Those damned Luttrells have been tormenting the continent for ages.” He lowered his voice. “But that’s just my opinion. You must think I’m some kind of blathering idiot.”

“Not at all. Sounds like we’re of like minds.”

“Glad to hear. I’m afraid this isn’t going to be the best trading excursion for either of us. As you see…” He tapped the dried blood where the wound had been, winced as if he didn’t believe it was actually gone. “We ran into a bit of trouble. Lost three carts.”

I clenched my teeth. “Man? Beast? How long ago?”

“Definitely men. About five of them. I’m afraid they killed one of my partners, but I don’t know what happened to the other. She insisted I flee.”

The dried blood running down the side of his face and the quick glance I’d gotten at the wound as it sealed left me musing. “If you made it here with that wound, it couldn’t have been far.”

“Outside your entrance—magical thing that is! Just over the hills to the west, about two miles off.”

I brought up my interface, opened the world map, zoomed out a bit, then scrolled in that general direction before raising two fingers and swiping it toward him. “Can you mark the spot?”

“I can get close.” He tapped the air, then a red ‘X’ appeared on my map. “About there, I think. I’m afraid the injury left me a bit dizzy, so I might be off.”

I clapped his shoulder. “No problem. We’ll figure it out.”

“You’re going after them?”

“Sir, you’re a trading partner with the Fowler Foundation. If someone attacks when you come to do business with us, well, they might as well have clocked me on the side of the head. If they’re still in range, we’ll see they pay for this transgression.”

“I don’t care about the materials, but if there’s a chance you could save the woman who rode with me, I’d be forever grateful.”

Even if it hadn’t meant I might get favorable trade status with the town providing us rare metals, the attack on our partner would’ve offended me. But it was definitely an added boon.

Fowler Foundation Clan Chat

Military Operations Channel

[G3m1n1:] I need able bodies at the Trading Post. Bring your mounts.

[Guiles:] On my way.

[Desini:] Inbound.

[Mashini:] Coming.

[Emilia:] Leaving the fishery now.

[Charney:] I see you have Liatra there, so I’m gonna sit this one out. I’m probably too low level for any real action, and the mishon are gathering for a service.

I glanced toward the shelter serving as a temple in the southwestern corner to find Charney standing outside with one hand raised.

Fowler Foundation Clan Chat

Military Operations Channel

[G3m1n1:] Roger that. Liatra can handle it. Desini, stop off at the smithy. Probert has something for you.

I set a hand on the vendor’s shoulder. “Timpy, take our guest inside, let him rest a bit.” I eyed the merchant. “You hungry? We have a commissary up the stairs. Just let Timpy know.”

He stuck out his hand, showing no indication he planned to leave. “I’m Kinst. Kinst Spindle.”

I shook it. “Nice to meet you. What’s the name of your town?”

“Stonespire.”

Since I was waiting for my group, I had to inquire. “There has to be a story behind that name.”

The vendor chuckled. “Nothing mysterious, really. Two natural formations on the west side of town form spires near the mines.”

“I see.”

The group formed up on their mounts with Desini arriving last. Spindle stood gaping, and his eyes flared with each new arrival.

My tank pulled the new breastplate over her head, and I helped guide it. The green glow persisted despite the contrasting sunlight. The horse she led was a white stallion we’d found in a herd just outside the foundation and had been broken in by one of the defenders from our small calvary. Another reason I looked forward to the coming upgrade. The cavalry would double in number from 15 to 30.

We’d reassigned Pickney—the horse who drew her cart back when she’d been a traveling vendor—to the farms. His thick muscles made plowing easy, and the animal thrived on exercise. Maybe because he spent so much time on the road and found life at the foundation docile. But all I could do was guess. Desini insisted on returning him to the stables when she was on site so she could brush him down.

Tsumi hustled down the steps. I’d forgotten the bard.

“Trouble?” she asked.

“This is Kinst Spindle. His trading procession was attacked outside.”

Tsumi turned her gaze on the merchant, who still showed no sign he’d go with Timpy. “How many attackers?”

I answered in the vendor’s stead. “He estimates there were five.”

“Hmm. What kind of armor did they wear? Was it plate? Chain?”

Kinst Spindle ran the palms of his hands over his chest. “Plate with chain accents.” The description showed our new trading partner knew his shit, and well he should if he traded metal for armor. I wondered if his town had a smithy of its own but wasn’t about to interrupt my new companion’s questioning of the merchant. If nothing else, it would tell me something about how she thought.

She muttered, “Plate and chain. Okay. How far from here?”

“Just outside, a few minutes ride over the western hills.”

“Close.” Tsumi shook her head. “Gemini, it might not be my place, but if people in this region hunt you, maybe someone is luring you. Do you have guards posted outside?”

I nodded. “Yeah. They let the vendors in and report new arrivals to Timpy.”

She clutched one hip. “Then they’d report unexpected visitors.” She turned to Timpy. “Have they? Reported any newcomers?”

My trade master gestured at Spindle as if he could see him. “Just him.”

Tsumi gave a confident nod. “Someone is trying to coax you away from your foundation. He might have seen five, but”—her gaze flicked to each member of my party before returning to me—”I almost guarantee you more are waiting.”

“Life of a smuggler?” I asked.

She chuckled. “You get me.”

I raised one shoulder and smirked. “Well, you’re probably right about the bandits. Even so, we’re going to go kick their asses. We have to ensure we send the kinds of messages that traverse the continent when people screw with our partners.” I spoke loudly to ensure everyone who’d gathered heard clearly. “The days we kept a low profile to protect our foundation as we ranked it up are over. No more turning from conflict. We’re upgrading tomorrow, and our new township will receive the most significant defensive upgrades we’ve seen yet. Then we’re going to take the fight to our enemies.”

“Yeah!” Mashini pumped one fist. When all eyes turned toward her in surprise, her cheeks flooded pink.

Tsumi squinted my way. “You have an edge of crazy to you.” She paused, but I didn’t really need to respond. It was true. “Can I help?”

“Absolutely. We’ll need to get you a mount.”

“I’ll just ride with you. I’m not much of a rider yet.”

I nodded. “We’ll work on that.” Then I did a double take. “How is it a smuggler doesn’t ride?”

She gestured toward Kinst Spindle with an open hand. “We used carts when we were out in the open. Like traveling merchants.”

I didn’t know what I imagined she would’ve done, but her reply left me feeling stupid. “I hope someday you’ll tell me all about it.” I checked my list to make sure everyone had been invited to the group.

Party

G3m1n1 Fowler

Level 40 Shogun

Guiles Renard

Level 53 Rogue

Liatra Monasay

Level 41 Light Sorceress

Desini Sherre

Level 40 Blade Master

Emilia Horne

Level 40 Paracelsus

Mashini Sherre

Level 41 Boomerang Thrower

I sent a final invite to the new level 41 bard. Her expression after she accepted prompted my wonderment. Unbridled awe. But that was understandable when viewing my team.

A high-level elven DPS with stealth capabilities and vicious combat skills, a mishon tank with new armor and a propensity for dodging a high percentage of incoming attacks, an elven ranger who could slice a pimple off a bull’s ass at 70 yards, a healer with massive critical heals and her pet who could shield up to ten people at once, and another mishon whose new boomerangs sported wooden frames with shining metal blades along the outer edges, not to mention the ethereal ones she could use to replenish mana pools.

And although I hadn’t seen Tsumi’s work as extensively, her ability with a bow and daggers was a nice complement to the crew. But her role as a support class that could buff the party really made me giddy. I’d taken a shot at bard shortly after we’d founded our home, but Tsumi made me look like a little bitch.

Aside from Yakol, most of my team had recuperated from resurrection sickness in the mine’s pool, but when I scanned the list of members, I noticed a familiar red icon next to Emilia’s name.

Oh, she’d moved around the foundation since we’d returned with her usual, confident stride, but I’d spent enough time with her shadowing me to know when she was putting on airs. She’d even gone through the motions at the inn in Brusaria before going out to scout, pretending to rest. The way she’d mislead was so unexpected, I had to consider my words.

“You have resurrection sickness.”

“I’m fine.” She adjusted the quiver on her shoulder.

“But you pretended to recover, hoping I wouldn’t notice.”

“And you didn’t.”

“Why lie about it? How much longer?”

I could’ve drilled down to the Companions tab, but it didn’t occur to me until she’d answered.

“I’m on the waning side, so it doesn’t matter.”

“The hell it doesn’t. Your Energy pool is degraded. Your speed will suffer. Your damage is reduced.”

“And yet, it will still be higher than yours. I knew you’d be a pain in my ass, so I… fibbed. When will you trust me?”

“When have I not trusted you?”

The elven woman watched my back. Followed me everywhere except when she had business of her own and held a reasonable certainty I was in a safe place, despite the knowledge I couldn’t die.

She sighed. “You have no sense of elven tradition. My queen ordered me to this post. I will perform my duties.”

Guiles interjected. “I find this decision unwise, Emilia. It is you who should trust the rest of us and recover. The queen would not have you fighting unprepared. It is you who should review elven tradition. I will not order it since you report to Gemini, but go forward knowing I do not approve.”

“Prince Guiles…” she trailed off. The group surrounding me turned their attentions everywhere but there while Emilia contemplated her response. “If you aren’t forbidding it, I will have to suffer your disapproval. The queen’s mandate prevails.”

“Again, Simansia would tell you to rest.”

“My queen isn’t here to say it herself, so you’ll have to settle for the knowledge that my heart palpates in a sorrowful beat for the duration of your disappointment in me.”

Guiles huffed. “You’re an ingrate.”

“I love you equally, my prince.”

Kinst stared on in wonder as an orange glow crept from my right shoulder to my fingertips then my giant mount appeared. Thunder whipped his head around in confusion, as he often did when I summoned him from the stables.

Maybe I was a bit of a showoff.

We rode across the frosty tundra that’d once been covered by the strange blight shards resulting from my destruction of an entropy crystal. I recalled how Priya burst into the night to assault the governor’s troops in her werewolf form.

I swear, the shit that woman has been through!

Then I wondered, would the extension of the former AI be put off by full moons staunching her progress, or would she have a readily available solution for lycanthropy? I hoped for the former because I was a vindictive bastard.

“Gemini?” Emilia snapped her fingers twice. I could only blame myself for that little annoyance. She’d learned the gesture from me. “You in there?”

I whipped my head around to find Emilia riding next to me on a brown mare with white patches on its neck.

“What’s up?”

“You didn’t even hear my question?”

“I was distracted. Sorry. Inside my own head, I guess.”

“Could you share the map marking?”

I did. We adjusted our path a notch to the south but maintained our westerly trod. The star painted warmth on my back as the chill of the unobstructed breeze flowing across the open prairie chilled my face. It was exhilarating and irritating at the same time.

Guiles rode out ahead to scout on his kick ass white tiger mount. Like me, he enjoyed a companion that didn’t just haul his ass around. Rather, it engaged in combat. It’d also taken a shine to my Snow Lioness Alpha, and the two were often seen wandering around the foundation as a pair. Early on, the humans from New Ninn were a bit apprehensive about them running loose, and they gave them a wide birth. The elves, however, seemed not to notice. The contradiction between two races who’d shared a city for two generations was interesting.

Desini gained on my left until her mount pulled even with Thunder. She chewed her bottom lip.

“What is it?”

“What will you tell Zhara?”

While it didn’t surprise me I wasn’t the only one with Priya constantly on the brain, the question annoyed me. It wasn’t the source of the query, and it had nothing to do with her persistence. I just hadn’t gotten that far.

Your daughter is possessed by a demon.

What if the guardian knew there was no such thing? How would she answer? I certainly couldn’t follow up with ‘There’s this thing called an AI who fucked us.’

“I have no idea.”

“You must be better prepared than this, master. If the prowess displayed during combat with the high priestess in the north is the slightest indication of the matron’s temperament, it would serve for you to stay in her good graces.”

I leaned down then gripped the pommel with one hand as a strong cross breeze shoved me to the side. “I’ll be prepared by the time I get there.”

“I do not think we should… how do you say it? Put all our eggs in one bucket?”

I nodded. “Close enough, but I don’t quite get how you’re applying it. Do you have other ideas?”

Desini nodded. “We should send a powerful party to the west and find her.” She raised a finger to delay my response. “If we don’t know how to free her of this demon, then we should learn its intent. Maybe if we assist, it will let her go.”

I had to love the mishon for her loyalty. If only life in Enora was so simple. I was contemplating possible replies, about how it didn’t work like she’d expect, when Guiles’s mount slowed to a hunched creep and our posse followed suit.

When the party rode side by side, Guiles pointed one long finger to the southwest. “Looks like they’re still perusing the spoils. I suspect Tsumi is right. This is subterfuge. Bandits would take what they could carry, then move on.”

Desini drew one of her swords. “And when have you ever known bandits to be beacons of wisdom, Prince Guiles?”

Tsumi cocked an eyebrow. It seemed to be her go-to expression. The mishon’s harshness of tone toward our elven mentor was apparent, even to a stranger. Although I couldn’t recall the exact words she’d used, I harkened back to the discussion where she’d questioned her role in the foundation. I scoured my logs.

The last thing I needed was infighting. Besides, Desini respected Guiles and I didn’t want her frustration over Priya’s loss spurring words she’d regret when she looked back on them.

Discussion Log:

[Desini:] Master, why do you contemplate? Am I not to be trusted? Is this why Guiles is the head of security for your foundation while I handle administrative—

I sighed.

Desini possessed a genuine talent for solving problems at the foundation, which she’d proven while I’d been up north seeking out her people and getting our first clan chat established. But Guiles was hundreds of years old and had been trained from an early age to be a military leader by a millennia’s-old elven queen. The assignments made sense, and with an enemy force in the center of the plains down the hill looting ill-gotten gains, sitting there waiting for them to discover our presence was stupid.

Fearing an edgy response could make things worse, I sent a private chat.

Private Chat

[G3m1n1:] If we need to talk about how we’re running things and your role at the foundation, let’s do it later. Maybe I assumed that, because you’re so good at the management piece, you enjoyed it. If I’m wrong, we’ll change shit up. But I suspect your problem isn’t with Guiles.

She answered out loud, interrupting the thought stream filling her interface. “Master. You’re right.” She leaned forward to peer around me at Guiles. “I apologize, Guiles. How do you think we should proceed to dispatch this scum from the face of Enora?”

Guiles tilted his head to one side. “I didn’t detect any cause for offense, Desini.”

He was being kind. Or maybe just mature. Or perhaps he just didn’t give two shits if Desini was in a mood when we were about to engage an unknown enemy force. Could be all of it.

He clicked his tongue, then tugged the thin reins attached to his tiger’s low-profile harness. It backed away until the hill blocked the view of the looters below. We formed a circle around him then the elven prince flicked the map from his interface toward the party. He drew blue Xs to the north and south, then a circle where the men sat below.

9

By my count, fourteen bandits milled around three carts picking at the goods, snatching up handfuls, then dropping them into the saddlebags on their horses. More enemies than the vendor had seen, which supported our suspicions. But they’d come out to pilfer the goods too soon. Gotten greedy.

They wore half-plate armor with chain segments to accommodate for gaps, but the design was intentional. The uniformity of the gear displaced any lingering idea these were bandits. They were soldiers.

An old movie line resonated in my head.

It’s a trap!

A patch of high pines, thick oaks, and a couple strange trees I couldn’t analyze due to my low botany skill rank sat just up a rise to the south of the looters. Although out of range for Mashini’s boomerangs, Emilia’s arrows could reach seventy yards due to an increase when she reached level 40. I didn’t know how far Tsumi could fire a short bow with accuracy, but we stationed her with the rest of the ranged group for buffs.

And buff them, she did.

Tsumi Wilsey plays Song of the Archer.

Accuracy up!

Emilia Horne receives Song of the Archer.

+25% Accuracy

Mashini Sherre receives Song of the Archer.

+18% accuracy

Tsumi Wilsey receives Song of the Archer.

+15% accuracy

The soldiers were beyond analysis range. Maybe that was intentional, too. A military outfit with a smart leader would keep us in the dark until the last minute, and since NPCs in Enora had the same interfaces and shared my understanding of the mechanics—hell, they likely knew more than I—it wasn’t a stretch to conclude their strategies would account for them.

But they hadn’t counted on Guiles.

The rogue moved among them in the typical crouch he used while in stealth mode, and I grinned while watching him slide daggers from their sheathes, pluck potions from their pockets. It was like he enjoyed this shit, but he’d never admit it. That there was a practical reason for him to steal the items to limit their contingencies was undeniable.

My interface popped open, and the map appeared once again. Markers popped up with numbers next to them to represent the levels of the soldiers. All between levels 40 and 42.

Like a military outfit who train and level together. Specialists. A unit.

Desini and I lay on our bellies to the north. Although I’d learned stealth naturally in the Dark Wood and could engage it at any time, my rank was too low to risk the close quarters of which Guiles was capable. But I still used it while prone.

“When we’ve dealt with these scum, we need to talk about Priya. I do not understand why—”

It was like she didn’t believe I loved the mother of my child. Her persistence tested my patience. “Please focus on the task at hand. We will talk before we retire for the day. There. Guiles is signaling.”

“Fine.” She crawled ahead on her belly, and I followed.

The ground was frigid and hard, and Desini’s fiery hair blew wildly in the easterly wind. I often forgot how the developers—or the AI—had replicated biological responses to stimuli, but the violent shiver sending a burst of warmth down my spine served as a vivid reminder.

Party Chat

[Guiles:] Now!

The elf swung a hand over head, then a projectile sailed high from the thicket in the distant south. A blue glow surrounded it—not because of any added magical effect, but because it allowed party members to track incoming attacks. The arrow drifted wide to the east by my estimation, but it warbled when the wind shoved it and sailed back toward center before lodging itself in the leg of one of the supposed bandits.

Not a critical hit. Not a mortal wound. But from that distance in a stiff breeze—not to mention the nausea, headache, and fatigue of rez sickness—I couldn’t help but be in awe at Emilia’s ranged combat accuracy. Between her and Guiles, I found myself wanting to train with the elves.

The soldier’s chin rose skyward, and I assumed he howled, but the wind drowned it out. His cohorts circled around him, facing in every direction. Another indicator they were trained.

Desini charged, and I followed, scanning the enemy troops. One soldier hesitated beside the cart with an armload of goods, and his separation from the formation got my cogs grinding.

Party Chat

[G3m1n1:] I want at least one alive.

[Guiles:] Very well.

My elven mentor’s stealth broke when he clubbed the injured soldier on the crown of his skull with the hilt of one dagger. By the time the men in the circle turned to respond, soldier had vanished again.

Party Chat

[G3m1n1:] He’ll do. Avoid the one with the arrow in his knee.

Although I pumped my legs as fast as they’d carry me over the flat frozen prairie, Desini left me in her dust. She howled a war cry, and text indicators popped above the heads of the remaining soldiers.

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt!

Taunt Resisted!

All but one turned to charge her.

Another glowing projectile pierced one of their necks, dropping him.

Emilia Horne uses Drilling Shot III.

Critical Hit!

Unknown Bandit

-192 HP

- 51 HP (Bleed)

-48 HP (Bleed)

-46 HP (Bleed)

A burst of speed brought Emilia into my view as I closed in on the crowd surrounding my tank.

Emilia Horne casts Cheetah.

Tsumi and Mashini fell behind the elven speedster, but as soon as the former was in range, she blew a melodic scale into a flute.

Tsumi plays Ballad of the Mongoose.

+5% Attack speed

+2% chance to evade melee attacks

Both swords drawn, I shouted, “Tenka Seru!” so they burst into flames, because I fucking loved fire. I didn’t technically have to use the verbal command anymore, but figured it might serve as a distraction, if only for a moment. It might even intimidate someone.

The crew surrounding Desini pushed in, forming a tighter circle. Despite her constant motion, two standing behind her landed blows, but Shoreen zoomed overhead and dropped her Healing Funnel onto my tank to give her a burst heal while adding a healing-over-time spell, to boot. The two-percent increased chance to dodge from our new bard companion undoubtedly helped keep the rest at bay.

I brought my sword around to my left, dipped it low, then brought it up in a hard slice that cut through the chain covering one enemy’s lower back. The motion also brought a bonus effect:

Inazuma

A bolt of lightning zipped from the tip and tagged another enemy right in his ugly face. He blew backward, tipped over his own feet, then adopted an empty gaze from the stun effect. Before I could rush in to finish him, another enemy broke off and swung a rapier in my direction. I parried, kicked him in the gut, then spun to bring the blade in my dominant hand around.

A seam opened from one side of his neck to the other as I sliced through his Adam’s apple. A lucky shot, but at least he was done. He dropped to both knees.

I sought out my previous target.

His eyelids fluttered before I could get to him, but when he rose, Desini taunted again, and his ire was drawn to her. I didn’t know how she could fight with so many attackers surrounding her, but I was neither agile nor a tank. She was a badass, and I just accepted I was the luckiest bastard in Enora.

Except for the whole Priya thing.

A wave of annoyance fueled my will to shove the thought away.

I raised my arm to strike another enemy, and a burst of pain rippled through my side. A soldier I hadn’t noticed sliced into my flesh. Red letters flashed in my field of vision.

Unknown Bandit uses Cross Slash.

Hit!

-145 HP

-44 HP (Bleed)

-40 HP (Bleed)

I pivoted just in time to block his next strike with my off-hand weapon, but the pain tearing through my waist stifled my main-hand’s attack when I brought the katana around. He easily parried, then drew his rapier to one side, poised to run me through. I dropped onto my backside then kicked his shin with the heel of one boot.

Thrown off balance, he tumbled forward and landed on me. At close range, I couldn’t muster a sword strike, so I dropped the katana from my left hand then punched him in the jaw.

-44 HP (Bleed)

-45 HP (Bleed)

A golden flash surrounded me, and a warming sensation coursed into the wound then across my torso. Not a second later, a blue ethereal shield surrounded me.

Liatra casts Flash Heal III.

Shoreen casts Holy Shield.

My enemy’s chin dropped. I met the expression with a grin. “Sucks, doesn’t it?”

I cocked my fist, and when the bandit dipped his head toward my chest to avoid the blow, I brought my other hand around, pressed the blade to the back of his neck, grasped the dull side, then shoved the edge deep and severed his spine. Talk about a mortal wound. Blood poured, and I threw him off before it could trail down into my clothing. Not that it wouldn’t vanish later, but I didn’t want it distracting me during combat.

But that concern proved short-lived when Guiles decided to enforce his will.

Guiles executes Shadow Dash.

Stealth cool down removed.

Critical Hit!

Mortal Wound!

Mortal Wound!

Mortal Wound!

Mortal Wound!

Mortal Wound!

Mortal Wound!

Mortal Wound!

His ghostly image zipped around the circle surrounding Desini, and although four of the soldiers had broken off to surge toward the ranged group, the rest learned a nasty lesson:

Guiles Renard was a cold-blooded killer.

Emilia drew her one-handed crossbow then sent a bolt into the forehead of one attacker while Mashini hurled a bladed boomerang with such ferocity, it sliced through the center of another’s ear and lodged there. She drew the other as Tsumi, who’d hustled off to one side to maintain a safer proximity, strummed the lute she’d pulled off her back and played something called Crushing Tympani. The last two attackers slapped their palms to their temples then dropped to their knees.

Unknown bandit is disarmed.

Unknown bandit is stunned.

Unknown bandit is disarmed.

Unknown bandit is stunned.

My team formed a circle of its own to press in on the final two, but I raised one fist to stop the attack. Several nodded as the group stopped its progression, then an arrow whipped in and sliced through the lone female’s temple and killed her.

I wheeled to find Tsumi readying another arrow.

I showed her one palm. “For future reference, a raised fist means halt. I’ll break down the hand signals for you later.”

She lowered her gaze. “Oops.”

Desini dragged the attacker we’d rendered unconscious to the center of our circle, then dropped him next to his compatriot with no fanfare.

Since he stood on his knees, I raised one boot then shoved his chest, so he fell onto his backside. “Guiles, feel free to do the honors.”

“Of course, Shénhuà.”

The man’s head twisted. “So, you’re him.”

No one needed more clarity than that, so I nodded. “Yeah. I’m him.”

Guiles knelt before the bandit. “The question is, who are you, friend?”

“Well, I’m not your friend, traitor.”

“Spare me your protestations and tell me why you’re here, then maybe you’ll return to your people unharmed.” He set one arm across his knee and let the dagger it grasped hang limp.

“You just killed everyone in your sight.” He dropped his chin, then cocked it toward the unconscious one. “Except for him.”

Desini stepped forward, raised her sword, then shoved it through the sleeping man’s back. Tsumi cocked her eyebrow yet again. Guiles’s eyelids dropped to half-mast as he shook his head in disapproval.

My expression stayed stony. I’d give it to the mishon. We’d had a hell of a time of late.

Guiles leaned in. “Make this quick or the mishon might steal the Light from your world.” While he might not have approved, the elven prince knew how to use a situation to meet his ends.

“Fine. I work for the Council of Elders.’ He paused, his gaze flitting from each of us to the next. When we didn’t respond, he clarified. “In Trowlsby.”

Guiles twirled the dagger, maybe to remind him it was there. “We know who the Council of Elders are. I wonder if you’d do me the honor of taking them a message. Would they see you?”

“Like I said, they sent us.”

“Good. Tell them to walk out the southern gate of their fine city and surrender to Commander Triyan Renard within two days’ time or face the consequences.”

“What?” The man chortled, but it didn’t come off as genuine. “You think we don’t know about your army forming to the south? Ha. We’ve already walked right by you without notice.”

My head drew back, but I suppressed a response.

Guiles had it under control. “Do you care to elaborate?”

The man cleared his throat, and this time, his gaze darted everywhere but at my people. I concluded it was the expression of someone who realized he’d said more than he should have.

“No. You gonna kill me now?”

Guiles stood. “No.”

“In that case, the woman over there is still breathing.” He stabbed the air with one finger, and I followed the line to see a sprawled figure in gray robes with a tattered headscarf. Her hand twitched, so the soldier hadn’t been lying.

Two other figures, both male, didn’t budge, and I knew we hadn’t dropped them.

“Liatra, go help her. Analyze first to make sure he isn’t screwing with us.”

Our healer sped off. Moments later, the hum of mana being drawn from her pool and siphoned through the air in the form of a healing spell filled my ears.

I stepped forward then leaned down so my face was inches from the soldier. “Let me get this right. Trowlsby is so poorly informed that you assholes attacked a caravan of innocents just to draw us out here because you thought you could actually take us on?”

“Not at all.” He shook his head the slightest bit. “We’ve heard all about how you repelled Kermatian Pyre and the governor’s forces. Rumor has it you even had something to do with the removal of the dark entity in Warrington, and now that town thinks you’re some kind of savior.”

“Then how does this tactic make sense?” I gestured around at the pilfered carts and dead bodies.

Although I stood poised with both swords clutched in my hands, the bastard laughed. A full-throated barrage of loud chortles. The nerve of the fucking guy. “We were just supposed to get you here.” He thrust a finger to the west. “They’re going to finish the job.”

On cue, thunder rolled from that direction. Every head swung as figures on horseback appeared from over the ridge. A similar sound in the east—the direction from which we’d come—was followed by another regiment’s appearance.

“Go ahead and kill me. The healers will resurrect all of us anyway.”

Once I’d performed a head check to confirm the vendor was back on her feet, I opened my party chat.

[G3m1n1:] Liatra. Portal. Now.

[Liatra:] No problem.

In answer to the bandit’s—no, the soldier’s—last, I whipped my katana around and decapitated him. His head rolled, then plopped onto the frozen ground. “Let’s see if they can resurrect you now, dip shit.”

Liatra waved her hands overhead, and lilac tracers followed their motion. Whipping sounds came on the wind as the ranged attackers from the eastern ridge sent projectiles toward us. Shoreen flew over our circle, covering us with transparent shields.

The storm of hooves rushing toward us dulled then evaporated when I stepped through the portal and returned home.

Guiles threw an arm around my neck in the Great Room. “Nothing is ever easy with you.”

“After all those decades hiding in Brumhill, you probably enjoy every second of it.”

He nodded then gave a rare laugh that revealed every tooth. “Goddess damn me, it’s true. But you know, they’re coming here next, and aside from the Second Assassin’s brigade, I have few I can call on to assist. We’re preparing a siege in Trowlsby. The wayportal is sacred ground to my people, so they won’t leave. And our scouts at Greycutter wouldn’t arrive in time.”

“Well, good thing we’re almost ready for an upgrade. Put on your strategy hat, my friend. I’ll go talk to Pulo.”

When I entered the tunnel, my interface flashed a new message in accordance with the reactivation of a filter I’d disabled before we’d left the foundation:

Emilia Horne’s resurrection sickness has expired.

I laughed.

10

I reached with my free hand to grasp the red garment from the shelf then pressed it to my face. Priya’s scent lingered, but instead of the amazement that sometimes washed over me at Enora’s realism, a pang of loss formed a lump in my throat. If any of my Light of Babylon guild mates heard how I bellyached over what they’d have thought of as a simple NPC, I’d never have heard the end of it. But I wouldn’t have given a shit.

My spouse was as real as Katelyn had been in my former world.

Zharan snagged the cloth, then pulled it to his nose, emulating the way I’d sniffed it. “Mama?”

I growled then hitched him up a bit higher on my hip as the motion caused him to slip. “Jesus, you’re getting heavy.”

When I checked his stats, I noticed he’d gained four pounds… in the couple days I’d been gone. At barely ten weeks, he should still have been swaddled, and the nagging sense Enora’d played a nasty little trick with his growth rate swelled. He really would be a teenager before I knew it.

One more damned thing to deal with.

“Does it smell like her?” An unmistakable mishon accent inquired from behind.

I sighed while my back was still turned, then pivoted to face Desini. “Hi.”

“Hello, yourself, master.” She reached out with both hands and flicked her fingers in a beckoning gesture. “I’ve barely seen this sweet boy since I returned.”

I handed him over, and Zharan went a little too willingly for my taste.

She kissed his forehead. “You’re getting heavy.” The boy clamped one hand onto her jutting chin, but her attention turned back to me as if she didn’t notice. “I can’t settle. The thought of Priya out there on her own and in no control of her own body haunts me.”

“Mama?” Zharan said.

Mother fucker.

“Could we avoid saying her name around my son until Val comes for him?”

“Why would Val come for him?”

“Because I’m going to be up all night, and he’s not.”

She squinted in what I thought might be a touch of judgment. The mishon was full of surprises lately, and I knew why. She was rattled. But one thing that’d drawn me to her in the first place was the loyalty she exhibited when someone she cared about found themselves in peril. I wasn’t about to hold it against her, no matter how frustrated I became.

She wore pants that flared round the ankles and a semi-transparent tank that had me averting my eyes. Her defined shoulders reminded me of the first time I’d seen her, when Priya wore the dress I clutched in one hand and zapped the men surrounding the mishon with a violence I hadn’t expected from a low-level.

Desini cut off my musings. “What is the state of the upgrade?”

“Everything’s done. We’re just waiting for the research timer to expire on the Scribe’s Hut. Should happen in”—I looked up and to the right—“seven hours.”

“Any word from the Trowlsby troops?”

“They haven’t come yet. No indication of an invasion, but we’re going to prepare anyway.”

“Of course, master. What else would we do?” She lowered her voice to a mutter. “Except go for Zharan’s mother.”

The boy’s head tilted up. “Mama?”

“He understands you. And whether you want to or not, I have to face the minuscule possibility”—it wasn’t—”that he might not see her again. So, please—”

“You will not talk like this in my presence, Gemini Fowler.” She thrust a finger my way. “If I must go west alone and retrieve her, I will do it.”

Again, I maintained a level tone. “You will do no such thing.”

“Why? Do you threaten to uncheck your little box and keep me prisoner?”

In a show of perfect timing, another mishon rounded the corner and pranced into the vault to cut our argument off at the knees. Summoned laborer or not, the way she stopped and took a step back toward the heavy iron door said something about her intuition. Validis could read a room.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Zharan cooed.

Desini turned, kissed my son a final time, then handed him over to Validis. “Not at all. We were just discussing the return of… someone important.”

“Oh. I see.” She nodded enthusiastically. “Then with your leave, MG, I’ll retire and tuck Zharan in.”

“Thank you, Val.”

The mishon hurried away from the conflict, although I’d hoped she’d stay longer and give Desini a moment to calm her motor.

Fill one hand with hope and the other with bullshit…

“Well?” Desini asked.

“You know I promised never to use that box with any companions. Free roam is a given, and you can come and go as you like. But this isn’t the time to run off half-cocked and get yourself into more than you can handle. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a civil war going on—a war we helped start, I might add—and it would be irresponsible to—”

“Don’t lecture me about responsibility, Gemini.”

I couldn’t remember the last time she’d used my name twice in the same day, but I’d have been an idiot not to fathom what the tone meant. My usually stoic, sophisticated, loyal, and protective tank teetered on the brink. Despite all we’d been through—or maybe because of it—the wisdom I’d become accustomed to from my companion was fading.

Maybe I should spend attribute points on that.

I didn’t even think about laughing at the errant thought aloud.

“Our responsibilities lie with Priya as much as anyone else.” She gave the kind of hard nod that said the discussion needed go no further. Which was bullshit.

“Really? Tell me, Desini, how many people live in Rubal?”

“What?” She pressed a hand to her chest as if I’d caught her off guard. “Why, millions. What has this to do with it?”

“You just said Priya must come first, right?”

“No, I said as much as anyone else. Equally.”

“Fine. Mince words. But I have a foundation with dozens of people working their asses off who are counting on us to get it upgraded so we can protect them from imminent assault. They’re out there in the mornings learning combat techniques so they can fight for this place by our sides. Would Priya want me to cast them off, leave it to the Second Assassins brigade who don’t even live here and who already bailed us out once to defend them?”

“I—”

I raised a finger. “Or consider the people of Trowlsby. The elves prepare a siege that will lock them inside the city for weeks, maybe months. Maybe even a year. Shouldn’t we be helping to figure out a way to shorten it?”

“Now Gemini—”

“Oh, I’m not even fucking close to finished!”

“But you are!”

I stepped back.

“You pluck my strings like I’m some imbecile who is out of tune with the world around me! Except for a few days, I’ve spent most of your waking moments with you since the goddess dumped you into this world! If you would—”

“Did someone call me?” a low, smooth, feminine voice spoke from the doorway.

We wheeled to spy a woman three inches shorter than Desini dressed in fine white robes and wearing a circlet decorated with golden leaves.

Katelyn?

Desini dropped to both knees, her face awash in horror. “Have I forsaken thee by arguing with your chosen—”

“Get up. Get up.” Katelyn waved a hand, but when Desini didn’t move, she spoke low. “Rise.” Her eyes flared at me. She cocked one eyebrow, then shrugged one shoulder. “My child?”

I chuckled without engaging my vocal cords. Katelyn had played this role once before and, since she’d donned the getup for this occasion, I’d play along.

“Get up, Desini. She isn’t going to cast you into the underworld for arguing with me.”

Desini’s timid rise gave little indication she believed me, but she eventually got to her feet. “Solara…” Her head whipped around. She lowered her voice to a whisper as if Katelyn couldn’t hear it. “Is it proper to call her by name?”

I grinned.

Katelyn answered for herself. “It’s fine, Desini. You honor me with your… piety.”

So she wasn’t much of an actress, but her words seemed to penetrate Desini’s fear.

“Solara, how you honor me. You will want to talk with your… with the Shénhuà. I will leave you to it at once.”

“Thank you, Desini.”

The blade master hustled out of the vault. For the first time, I was glad to see her go. Guilt washed over me with the thought.

The first thing that dawned on me once the mishon was gone was Katelyn’s solid form. Last time she’d appeared, it’d been as a translucent apparition. As if she read my mind, she raised her arms.

“Yes, you may hug your goddess.”

If it hadn’t been a virtual environment, I might have squeezed the life out of her.

She returned the embrace with equal enthusiasm, and her words tickled the short hairs on my ears. “You’ve been having a time of it, huh?”

“I assume you got my message.”

“I did.”

I stepped back. “How much do you know?”

“One of our developers pops popcorn after his shift and watches your replays. He called me when he saw what happened to Priya a few hours ago, before you wrote the trouble ticket.”

“A few hours? Oh, right. The damned time conversion.” For me, it’d all happened the previous evening and, no matter how I kept myself busy, time dragged while I waited for a response..

“Yeah. The time thing. I’m in my pod. Brand new model. It’s bad assed. Maybe not as bad assed as actually having your consciousness transferred, but it’s got to be close. Can you believe the house Nokuro built?”

“I can believe the bitch that helped him set me up!” The outburst came before I could consider it, but in display of her usual stoicism, Katelyn didn’t even flinch.

“Yeah. It’s kind of a bitch. Sorry about all this.”

“Sorry?”

She raised one hand, leveled her gaze on mine, then spoke low and slow. “Gemini, try to remember that for the rest of my world, it’s still a game. She’s still an NPC, and the only reason the developer came to me in the first place is because it’s like a cyber-stream to him, and he feels like he’s invested in your story. You’re caught up in your new world, and I can sympathize. But all Priya will ever be to the outside world is a construct.”

I drew a sharp breath and gazed into the distance over her shoulder for a few seconds. No matter how that bit, she was right. But I no longer had an outside world. No place to retreat and gain perspective. Enora was it.

Now I’m just confused. Shit.

She dipped into my line of sight. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Fine.” My shoulders dropped as a deep breath slipped through my nostrils. “Talk about a reality check.”

“It’s not that you’re entirely unreasonable. I’m not heartless, and I hope I didn’t come off unsympathetic. You live here. You love an NPC. But it’s not like she’s just some… NPC. I get it. These people are authentic as all get-out.”

“Tell me about it.”

“But you might want to gain some perspective. Try to lighten your burden. Convince yourself that she’s actually ones and zeroes.” She grasped one hand then led me out of the vault before I could respond. “Let’s go to your meeting table and have a chat. C’mon. It’ll be fun if people pass by and see the goddess sitting there in all her glowing glory. Here.” She waved one hand and an aura of golden light surrounded her.

“You’re a real shit.”

“Yeah, and you love me.”

“Always will.” We strolled up the tunnel. “How’s Nokuro?”

“Oh, he’s pissed. That seems to be the state of things these days. Sometimes I wish I’d stayed at the hospital.” Prior to joining her uncle’s company, Katelyn was a nurse at Hanover Memorial. It seemed like ages ago, and in her time, it’d only been about six weeks.

“Is the whole world going to shit?”

“No, everything else is on track. Runs smoother than a baby’s behind. But Rubal is the persistent thorn in his side. That’s one of the things I’m here to talk about.”

We arrived in the dim Great Room, the lamps drilled into the stony walls burning low. I pulled out a chair so she could sit. “Your holiness.”

“Thank you.” She slid into it, then I sat across from her.

“I have no idea how you’re going to react to this, so steel yourself just in case.”

I steeled. “Go for it.”

“Nokuro is locking Rubal down.”

Considering recent tidings, the news had little impact. “What do you mean, exactly?”

“He’s erecting a barrier through which only tradesmen and vendors can pass. Ships can come to ports for trade, but he’s not letting combatants or players through. Rubal is now its own little world.”

“Why?”

“You have to ask?” When I raised both shoulders, she dropped her elbows on the table. “I have to remind myself you’re not in the loop. Do you have a while?”

I checked the timer on the Scribe’s Hut research.

“Yup. I’m all yours.”

11

Katelyn delivered an info drop as if it’d have more impact than it did. “We’re releasing in three days, my time.”

“That’s what? Nine days for me? Okay.”

“I tell you we’re releasing, and you start doing math. Same old Gemini.”

I might have shrugged. “You just said you’re locking players out of Rubal, so why do I care?”

“Hmm. Well, I guess I just expected a more…”

“Angry response because a bunch of entitled morons wouldn’t be coming to ruin all that I’d built? Shit. Keep ’em. It doesn’t make a damn difference to me. Do you have any idea how many loners are going to forego group play once they get a load of these NPCs? I don’t mean to prattle, but—”

“Then don’t.” She smiled her disarming smile… maybe in case her interruption armed me.

“Fair enough. Spew forth, Solara.”

A hunched figured came in from the mine, swinging his bent arms like he had not a care in the world until he spied the glowing figure seated across from me. Then he tripped and fell flat on his face.

“Your greatness.” I waved a hand toward the rising orc. “My good friend and faithful servant, Moggy.”

Katelyn pulled a real winner of a response right off her cuff. “If I sent him here, why do you think introductions are necessary?”

She’d done nothing of the kind, but I wasn’t about to strip the joy from her role playing.

Moggy pushed up, got his feet under him, pressed both hands to his chest, then sprinted up the tunnel. “Foreman Pulo! Foreman Pulo!”

Katelyn barked laughter. Once her mirth subsided, she said, “I guess he was impressed.”

I nodded but didn’t respond.

Fucking Moggy.

Thank goodness it was the middle of the night, or people would be staring at me strangely for days.

“Where was I?” She raised a finger. “Oh, right. No players, no problem.”

“You didn’t say why, exactly. Why Rubal is such a persistent pain in Nokuro’s ass, and what in particular is bugging him. I guess it’s obvious enough that having Lucera control my in-game girlfriend—and mother of my child I might add—influences whether or not he plans to help me.”

She squinted one eye. “Perspective or suffering, you choose.”

“That’s very Buddhist of you.”

Katelyn pressed on. “We’ve also identified some strange code that only exists on this continent. Can’t find it anywhere else inside this massive mother fucker of a world.”

“Code? Code is my jam.”

“Code was your jam. But this isn’t data center switching and routing, my friend. We’re not configuring network security. These are glyphs where there should be numbers, letters, or simple keyboard symbols. We can’t interpret them. We can’t make any light of them.”

“Where’s the code?”

She threw up one hand then dropped it. “There’s no telling how far it stretches, but for now, we’ve found it in select NPCs in Rubal.”

A warm shiver crept up the back of my neck and my hair bristled. “Why only certain NPCs?”

“No fucking idea.”

“Is Priya one of them?”

She nodded. “When we heard about her, we scanned some old code, and sure enough, there it was.”

“Who else?”

“Not your problem, yet.”

“Fuck you it isn’t my problem. You here to talk, or what?”

“If you’d let me finish.” Her face tensed.

I hit the pause button so she could continue.

“We’ve only recently identified them. The best we can tell, some have a repeating sequence of these strange glyphs, but they don’t match up with Priya’s. The pattern is peculiar. Erratic. But after we learned one of the Luceras was—for lack of a better word—possessing your woman, we started scanning all of them. Only a few popped up, and it was… strange.”

“Strange, how?”

“They were nobodies. No mana pools. No combat skills. Simple NPCs living simple lives.”

“Weird.”

“Tell me about it. Enora is a bit of a…” She snapped her fingers twice. “What’s the word?”

“Enigma.”

“That’s it!” She grinned, then it faded. “But when we heard about Priya, the game changed. We can’t track her.”

“Wait. You can’t see Priya?”

She shook her head. “That’s why we had to look at old code.”

“How old?”

Katelyn frowned.

A new chill squiggled down my neck and across my shoulders.

She traced the wood grains in the table with one finger. “From before you entered Enora.”

The realization dawned like syrup pouring through a narrow spout, slow and sticky, but when I worked through it, my heart knocked on my ribs like they were doors.

“Lucera’s been inside Priya since before we met?”

Katelyn nodded. “We can’t be sure, but I don’t know what other conclusion to draw. The code was there, and now that she’s manifested, we can’t find her. And that means—”

“There could be others.”

Again, she nodded. “Quick as ever, my friend. There could be any number of them. And since we can’t find them, I wanted to ask you for a strange favor.”

“A favor?”

“Yeah. We’re working on a new skill, and I’d like to give it to you.”

“Does it bust shit up?”

She chuckled. “Like Nokuro would let that happen.”

“Well, if players aren’t coming to the continent, what different does it make if I’m OP?”

“Like you wouldn’t get bored.”

“Woman, if I had a choice, I’d take Priya and Zharan, go back to the coast for a month, and cast a line in the water.”

“You’re full of shit.”

“Only a little.” I leaned back in the chair and looked up at the skylight cut into the rocks high above. A couple stars peeked through. “Tell me about the ability, then. Ask your favor.”

“One thing Enora might not have accounted for when she was covering her tracks, was you. If the code predated you, it’s possible—however unlikely, I admit—she didn’t foresee this.”

“Cut to the chase.”

“If it works, this passive ability will cause NPCs with this strange code to flash red. You’d be the only one who could see it.”

“How would that work?”

“It’s complicated, but suffice it to say, we’d be activating it from the inside instead of using our external tools. In much the way she put the code in others, we’ll be adding code to you.”

“Will I require a reboot?”

Her laughter was musical as it bounced off the stone walls. “Such a riot, dude. No. No reboot. No downtime. You’ll receive a notice.”

“Yeah, sure. Go for it. You going to give me a way to tell you when I see it?”

She nodded. “A dedicated chat. You should be able to reach me whenever you like. We’ll have someone monitor it when I’m offline.”

“Are you commonly online?”

“Dude, I’m a guinea pig. Two more levels and I’ll be equal to you.”

“No shit?”

“Yeah. No shit.”

“Got companions yet?”

She shook her head. “Not allowed until release. Nokuro’s an asshole.”

“Will he let you into Rubal?”

She pushed up from the chair then leaned forward. “He couldn’t stop me if he wanted to.”

I stood. “What about all the scuttlebutt that will flow across the world about this barrier?”

Katelyn turned as if to walk into the tunnel and out into the open. “He doesn’t care. Let people postulate. To him, it’s better than the alternative. Not to mention the best advertising is conjecture. Wonderment. C’mon, show me around.” She winked. “I love it when people bow and fall to their knees before me.”

She set her arm in the crook of my elbow. “Can you tell Desini to trust me until we figure this Priya thing out?”

Katelyn squeezed the arm. “Sorry. Deal with your own people. Again…”

I waved it off with my free hand. “Nokuro’s an ass. I get it.”

“But when we’re done with the tour, I’ll go down the hall and cure your beast master’s resurrection sickness.”

“Oh, man. That’ll make his day. Hell, his year. A Templar healed by the Goddess herself. He’ll bore his people to tears.”

When we stepped onto the plateau, Katelyn scanned the buildings. Without a word, she paced all the way to the opposite end, then stood with her tips of her sandals hanging over the edge of the stone framing the top, grassy step. “This is pretty cool.”

“Come back in about six hours if you want to see cool.”

“Do you know what it’s going to look like?”

I nodded. “To a degree. The preview on the map in the Master’s Cabin allows us to see a rough schematic. I select the slots for the new buildings. The difference this time is that those cliffs”—I thrust out a finger pointed north, swung it across and through the passes dividing the massive stone walls, then stopped when I faced south—“are going to move about fifty yards in every direction. What I don’t know is whether there will be an earthquake. Or if the sound of them moving will deafen us.”

“Do you want me to ruin the surprise?”

I laughed. “Nope. We’re going to squeeze citizens into the Great Room. Pulo swears I have to see it from there, but he didn’t tell me what’s going to change.”

Katelyn barked laughter at twice the decibels. “Oh, he’s good. I’m definitely not going to ruin the surprise, then.”

As if his ears had been burning, Pulo strode out of the Master’s Cabin then headed toward us. Moggy lurched behind him for a few steps, then stopped, his back hunched more than usual, his gaze facing the ground.

The dwarf turned. “Aye, Moggy. You’re being ridiculous. Come meet the goddess. If it makes ye feel better, ye can kneel!” He faced us again and shook his head in derision. “He wants me to arm him every time someone threatens the foundation, but he’s afraid of the woman who sent him here. Crazy orc.”

Katelyn stepped closer to the dwarf so she could look over his head at our laborer. “Moggy, please come. It’s okay. I won’t bite.”

The orc raised his head, then hustled to obey her command. He dropped to both knees. I invited Katelyn to a private chat and suggested she was really getting off on the scene, but she didn’t bother with a reply.

Instead, she set a hand on the orc’s shoulder. “You are a fine and faithful servant.” She winked her eyes in succession. “But your energy levels are low, and you must rest. Now, go.”

Moggy popped up, then ran away like his ass was on fire. Katelyn chuckled.

Pulo tilted his head to one side. “You’re even more beautiful than I expected. Last I seen ye, it was from behind.”

“I enjoy that view just as much,” I muttered. She flashed me a playful glare that wrinkled the thin skin around her eyes. In light of Priya’s absence, unsuitable memories of Katelyn’s naked form instigated a wave of guilt that cascaded across my body.

I scanned Katelyn’s features, skin tanned the color of a sunbather, the slightly upturned nose, the slightest tilt of her eyes at the corner from her half-Asian heritage.

Despite her misgivings about appearing in the form of the goddess when the AI forced her to adopt it, she’d chosen it this time, and it made sense. She’d have no problem keeping people out of ear shot. It was the kind of calculation I should’ve expected from my former partner in crime with whom I’d stacked up achievements in Light of Babylon.

T-Lob, what a joke.

“Thank you,” she said to the dwarf. “I must soon take my leave, but you serve with distinction, Foreman Pulo. Please continue to do all you can to see the Shénhuà’s foundation thrives, for there will be no others like him in Rubal.”

The dwarf and I did a double take.

No other Shénhuà?

The dwarf bowed. “Aye, I’ll serve the master’s will.” He bent, tapped his knee to the ground with his head bowed, then sped back to the cabin.

“No more?”

“Well, not on this continent. If we have others who have their consciousnesses transferred, we might give them the leg up, but Nokuro says we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“In my virtual apartment, Nokuro mentioned you had an earth-like world close to completion. Wouldn’t people choose that instead?”

She shrugged. “Would you?”

“Hell, no.”

“Answered your own question.” She pressed her finger to my cheek and shoved it to one side. “You’re not so unique and precious as you think, snowflake.”

“Bite me, Solara.”

She squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll work on the Priya thing.”

“Thanks. Let me know what I can do.”

“Actually, once the new ability has filtered through Enora II—that’s what we call the segment of the new AI that handles skill mechanics and the like—activate it. Let us know when you see any red flashes around those NPCs. Then we’ll try to track them, and if we can’t, well, we’ll let you know what we come up with.”

“Sounds like a fair trade.”

“Now escort me to your templar so I can cure his sickness.”

When we passed through the Great Room and into the mine, a query snapped to mind. “Hey, what happened to ‘District?’”

Her face twisted up in confusion.

“It was the next rank of foundation before town, now it goes from borough to town.”

“District was left over from before Enora. It was a stupid name because they’re segmented in cities. So, we axed it. I guess she never got around to it or didn’t care. And judging from what she pulled off during the fast-forward of the world, she had other things whirling through her mechanical mind.”

“What did she do during the fast-forward?” My understanding was that the sentient version of Enora sped the clock on the world by 2,000 years to erase the remnants of the beta testers—especially Arturus, the one who’d dropped Easter eggs like the Tome of Destruction and caused blight to break out in the original Elven city of Ninn and Roshan’s home continent of Lau.

“That’s when she inserted the code. The whole thing was a ruse. She’d outright lied about her motivations—at least, that’s what we believe.”

“That bitch haunts us from her grave in many ways, doesn’t she?”

Katlyn’s eyelids dropped to half-mast and her head twisted slowly from side-to-side. “You have no idea.”

Yakol snapped to like a child caught stealing when he spied the glowing woman entering the cavern at the back of the mines. But when he went to rise, Katelyn waved both arms with her palms facing the ground. “No, don’t get up.” It was a good thing, too. He’d probably been naked as the day he was born beneath the water line.

A pink glow emanated from the fingertips of one of her hands, then my HUD reported that Yakol’s long sickness had been cured. The beast master’s lack for words was a first, and I hadn’t seen that shocked look in his eyes since he learned I was a Mythic the day we met in Briarton at Timpy’s shop.

Katelyn kissed my cheek, then stepped back to wave her hands in circular motions. Red tracers filled the air, a color I hadn’t seen before with that kind of spell. Before she could step through, I tugged the garment covering her shoulder. She turned, and I embraced her a final time.

Then she stepped through the portal and was gone.

12

We crowded into the cavern we’d named the Great Room, and the populace chattered with excitement. Mishon, elves, humans, a pair of goblins—we were the picture of diversity. I swelled with pride at every smiling face. We’d created a home for these people, a place they could contribute to, and without exception, wanted all it might offer.

It filled me with glee to have brought together people of like minds and positive dispositions. Maybe it was in their synthetic DNA, but the reasons didn’t matter. It was enough that we were united. After all, who needed the infighting and conflicts of reality? Even less, politics.

I nodded at Emilia, who stood in the shadows off to one side. I noticed Yakol standing in the only open space near the mine entrance. The residents of my foundation tended to give his spider pet a wide berth. They were like me in that way. I scanned and located other party members, including Guiles, who stood behind the long table used for foundation meetings.

But two people were notably absent. I waved Emilia over.

She leaned toward me. “Yes?”

“Where are Desini and Liatra?”

She gripped my wrist and gave a gentle squeeze. “They asked that we proceed without them.”

“Without them? No way am I—”

“Trust me in this one thing, Gemini. Proceed without them.”

I clenched my teeth as my forehead wrinkled but decided to trust her.

Foreman Pulo stepped forward so he stood just inside the mouth of the tunnel leading into daylight. He cleared his throat in a sound like rocks scraping together. Then he raised both hands and dropped them. Raised and dropped them again. “All right, everyone. Let’s cut the jabbering so the master can speak, then we’ll get this little show on the trail.”

The crowd settled, and shivers of apprehension coursed through my entire upper body as everyone’s attention fell upon me. Pulo stepped to one side, then I filled the vacated spot to face my people.

Our people.

“Welcome, everyone. Today your hard work will bring many positive changes to the Fowler Foundation. Despite the trials and turmoil that come with service to the goddess’s chosen representative in Enora, we have persevered. Soon, another threat might come to our instance portal, but after this upgrade, we will be ready for whatever our enemies throw at us.”

The crowd pumped their fists and gave a full-throated cheer.

“I’m not one to blather on, so what say we upgrade this borough to a town?”

Another cheer rose, echoing through the cavern so it bit at my ears, but I couldn’t have cared less. I popped open my interface, selected the Foundation tab, proceeded to the Upgrade Tab, then read the deets.

Foundation Upgrade Requirements

1. Five level four buildings

The following buildings meet this requirement:

Tannery

Smithy

Alchemy Lab

Carpenter’s Workshop

Requirement met

2. An Inn — Met

3. Resources:

3a. 5000 mined gold — Met

3b. 500 tanned hides — Met

3c. 100 Bronze bars — Met

3d. 100 pine logs — Met

3e. 115 Oak Planks — Met

4. Level Three Forge — Met

5. Greenhouse (Alchemy Lab Addition) — Met

6. Building Points:

2,000 BP required

Each foundation receives a daily allotment of 100 building points (BP), distributed at 12 a.m. Enoran Mean Time.

In addition, the foundation receives 10 BP per day for each summoned laborer.

You earn additional BP with each rank your foundation reaches as follows:

Foundation level BP increase:

Level 2: Hamlet 200 BP

Level 3: Borough 350 BP

Next Level 4: Township 4750 BP

Level 5: City 10000 BP

Current Daily Earnings:

100 BP (Base)

10 BP Per Laborer x 10 Laborers:

100 BP

BP Allotment for Borough Rank:

350 BP

Total Daily BP:

500

Available BP: 5,125 — Met

Congratulations! You have met all the requirements to upgrade your foundation from Borough to Township.

Would you like to spend 2,000 Building Points to upgrade your borough to a township?

“You’re damn skippy.” I focused on Yes.

I was cast back to the day we dropped the foundation stone to have it swallowed up by the soil underfoot as my boots quaked. The Great Room rumbled around us, and a symphony played victorious music that echoed up and down the tunnels. The expressions I scanned on the crowd’s faces ranged from excitement, to trepidatious, to outright confused.

A warming sensation coursed through my body until I realized what was missing from the whole exercise. I pushed the sea blue eyes of the object of my desire away then forced myself to focus. To live in the moment. To share my peoples’ joy as the world around them performed the kinds of miracles they lived to see.

I imagined what it must be like for them. No doubt, rumors of the goddess’s visit the night before traversed through the foundation while I cut trees early that morning because sitting still proved too much. It wasn’t hard to imagine how many would be disappointed they didn’t get to lay eyes on Katelyn—their Solara—but in their minds, the rumbling, glowing environment complete with music unlike any that’d filled their ears was proof she looked upon their daily labors with approval.

Sometimes I wished I could share their perspective instead of knowing what I did. Ignorance could be bliss. But those dreams never lasted. There was always something new to deal with that reminded me how lucky I was to live in a game world. It was a huge advantage only a fool would rebuff.

Then the world faded to black, like someone threw an unfathomably huge shroud over the star rising in the southeastern sky. Utterances of awe filled the air, followed by little pinpricks of light swelling to life inside the black stone of the cavernous walls. First white, then gold, the motes spread to mesh together and fill the natural bulkheads so they shone across the room.

The ceiling overhead rumbled then rose in a long grind. The jagged protrusions receded to form a smooth surface above and all around. A milky liquid flooded in as if behind a layer of glass to surround us in a white glow, then tiny blue-gray veins webbed outward from the center of each wall and the high ceiling overhead. Crackling sounds filled the air when the flow solidified to form marble.

The hard-packed surface beneath our feet leveled out, and people reached for one another to stay upright. They gaped in awe as the color shifted from brown to a deep ash, then turned to stone.

I turned my gaze on Pulo, and he gave me a knowing wink. I couldn’t suppress the ear-to-ear grin stretching my features, nor did I want to.

The music softened then faded away. The light receded when the old skylight filled in, but a new one formed in the now-marbled ceiling overlooking the center of the space. Somehow I’d missed it when the walls spread further from us, leaving a sprawling room with thirty-foot ceilings, and a wide stone floor. The same stone formed the structure of the right-hand tunnel leading to my sleeping quarters, but the mine leading to the restoration pool remained stony. I thought it might have widened a bit, however.

The central tunnel leading just thirty feet to the gold mine remained unchanged, the best I could tell.

New messages replete with text filled four separate panes in my interface.

Foundation Upgrade Complete!

Congratulations!

The Fowler Foundation has been upgraded to a Township!

What would you like to name your town?

Still tickled by the incredible show, I was at a loss. So I put it to the crowd, who stared around them in a shared display of wonderment.

“What do you all think? What should we name our town?”

“Fowlerton!” A mishon male hollered from the back.

“Solarania!” Mutters and nods.

A demure figure with a tail waving high over one shoulder stepped forward, with my son nestled on one hip, his eyes wide as he gaped at the surrounding room. Validis spoke, but I couldn’t hear her over the crowd. I raised my hand and signaled for quiet.

Color filling her cheeks. She hesitated. I waved two fingers toward myself in a beckoning gesture.

“Skyyville.”

Although the room had already been quiet, total silence engulfed it. I swallowed then raised my hand.

Another hand rose. Then another. A slew of hands. The whole room.

A tear fought its way over the lower lid trying to contain it, then rolled down my cheek. I peered back at my interface and thought the single word.

Congratulations!

Your new township has been named Skyyville.

My gaze flitted left to right, then an outpouring of approval echoed off the shining new marble walls. Humans, elves, and mishon embraced. The big interface window zipped away, leaving three panes. The golden frame surrounding the pane on the right flashed, so I read it next.

Upgrade Notifications

The following changes were executed during your upgrade to a township.

The gold mine has doubled in size and been replenished.

A Scribe’s Hut has been added in the location indicated prior to upgrade.

New metal veins have been added to your copper mine.

The square footage of the Skyyville valley has increased by 30%.

The borders around the outside of your instance have increased by 2,000 yards in all directions.

You will now receive 750 BP per day in addition to bonus BP acquired by meeting other requirements.

New Daily BP Allotment:

950

Someone poked my shoulder, and the text faded. Pulo beamed so his teeth appeared from behind his puffy beard. “Don’t just stand there and read it, Gemini.” He turned so the whole crowd would hear. “Come and see it for yourselves!”

He led us through the tunnel and into the early birth of daylight.

I perused one of the shorter notification panes as we walked.

New nodes available for capture!

Now that you’ve upgraded your foundation to township, the list of assets you can capture to spread your influence has increased to include the following:

Homesteads

Villages

Boroughs

Towns

You may also capture resource nodes belonging to communities of these sizes as well as those of small and large cities, even when you’re ineligible to capture those communities.

Maximum population allowed per node: 1,000

I pumped a fist as we stepped outside.

The plateau rising high over the rest of the valley had lengthened to half a football field and widened to equally. The smooth, painted planks that encapsulated the Smithy had risen, and the lower half of the building formed a foundation of stone squares resembling cinderblocks. Dark brown shingles covered the roof, and another pipe had been added for exhaust. I stepped in that direction, but Pulo grabbed my arm and gave a gentle tug.

“Nay, Master Gemini. Let’s see it all from the outside first.” He pulled me toward the center of the grassy field, then swept his hand in a wide gesture. “As ye’ll see, the cliffs have moved further away, keeping our cave and the primary buildings atop the plateau out of even the best siege weapons’ ranges.” He pointed. “The Master’s Cabin has doubled in size, and the Architect’s Cabin now has a second table so Lucias can take on an apprentice—without crowding and irritating her since it, too, has widened by double.”

He passed the Alchemy Lab as we knew there were no upgrades this time. When we reached the western edge beyond the buildings on our left, the sound of rushing water came to my ears. I turned south to spy the source and found the slight river that’d served our fishery had doubled in width and rushed like the Mississippi during a storm.

“Holy fucking shit.”

A new building stood at its edge, and when I focused on it, a pane popped up.

Fisherman’s Cabin

A respite from the elements for your master fisherman, complete with wood stove, a double bed, and a map of ports open for the fishing trade.

Note: The fishing trade is a separate industry, and imports and exports are handled through the Master Fisherman.

Note: You have not assigned a Master Fisherman to the fishery.

I could think of ten elves or mishon who’d die for that job. Charney would probably volunteer, but he was like a fish out of water when it came to maintaining a pole without nodding off—pun intended.

Pulo droned on. “The Trading Post has increased in size by twenty percent, and a small workshop has been added in back.”

A high-pitched voice caused me to jump. “Woo hoo!” Timpy burst past us and, although I cringed when the unsighted one took the first steps, they proved no challenge as he skipped every other one in bounds as he hustled toward his new boon.

Pulo laughed. “Aye, he’ll be even happier when he… feels around in there.”

I chuckled at his mid-sentence adjustment. I did it all the time inside my head when it came to Timpy.

Pulo clasped my shoulders then turned me to the right. At the bottom of the stairs sat a cute little cottage with two windows on the sides turned in my direction.

Pulo waved a hand toward it. “Go ahead, I know you can’t resist.”

I analyzed.

Scribe’s Hut

The newest addition to your shiny new township, the Scribe’s Hut is where your nominated scribe can produce scrolls. In addition, all rune crafting performed in this building comes with a 15% increased chance of success.

Note: You have not nominated a master scribe.

You can summon a scribe from Solara’s heavenly realm for 300 gold coins.

If you choose to summon a scribe, you will gain the following benefits:

Your scribe will automatically be ranked at 20 in Inscription and enjoys a 20% increase in Inscription rank gains.

Scribe’s Apprentices working inside the Scribe’s Hut receive a 12% bonus to Inscription rank gains.

Like your foreman and unlike laborers, your scribe never sleeps.

No food is required for scribe upkeep

I checked my township’s inventory.

Vault Reserves

2,274 Gold

1,834 Silver

4,547 Copper

“What do you think, Pulo, you want a baby brother?”

To my surprise, the outer edges of the dwarf’s beard surrounding his mouth tilted down. “I tried to find someone I thought would be a good candidate, but Scripting requires a steady hand, a knowledge of runecraft, and dedication. Although a few of the elves could start at level one and become fine scribes, I need them performing the tasks they’ve been assigned, and their happiness level is so high, I wouldn’t want to throw them for a loop.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, hoping to alleviate any tension my amazeballs foreman felt. “Should I take that as a yes?”

Pulo sighed, maybe with relief. “Aye, MG. I believe it would be a boon to the foundation. A scribe will eventually rank up to where he can provide you with level forty scrolls to take on your adventures.”

“And in the meantime, if he’s rank twenty, might he provide scrolls that assist the groups who want to learn combat in leveling up? Does Enora”—I lowered my voice to a whisper and leaned in lest anyone around us misconstrue what I was saying—“Does Enora have XP scrolls?”

He gave a knowing nod. “Aye. Solara provides. And a rank twenty scribe can produce scrolls for combatants up to the same level, though the cap is ten-percent.”

“Hey, from levels one to twenty, ten percent kicks ass.”

I opened the pane again and focused.

Do you wish to summon a scribe?

“Fuckin’ A,” I muttered.

Although you can choose any race from the list, the following races receive bonuses to Inscription.

Mishon:

Bonus: +5% to Inscription speed

Gnome:

Bonus: +5% to Runecrafting Speed

You may also choose from any of the following races:

Elf

Goblin

Human

Mishon

Teran

“Well, damn. What do you think, Pulo? Inscription or Runecrafting speed?”

Pulo shrugged. “Depends on your needs, MG. Inscription makes the scrolls. Runecrafting creates runes that can be slotted in weapons and armor and serves many other functions. So the question is, what do you think?”

The answer came like a breeze. Runes would attach permanent benefits to my party’s gear, while scrolls would come with time limitations. Besides, I hadn’t met any gnomes yet, and unlike when I summoned Pulo, I was allowed to choose a race I’d yet to encounter to become my scribe. My inner geek found all the justification it needed in that, alone.

Dwissle Raffin has been born into the world!

Remaining funds:

1,974 Gold

1,834 Silver

4,547 Copper

“Well, MG, I didn’t know you were going to do it now. Let me go to the tunnel and meet the poor thing. A couple things of note while I show him to his new home.” He thrust out a thick finger. “The inn needs an innkeeper. Anyone will do, but I’d find someone hospitable. Also, when you nominate one, your inn will be activated. This means travelers can either stop in—with permission to enter the township, of course—or open a portal to enter, as long as they meet the requirements you set.”

“Like what?”

“Like disarming. If they carry weapons, they will be transferred to the void container in your newly expanded storehouse and automatically returned when they step back through the portal.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s a good thing.”

“Yes, it is.” He cocked an eyebrow to reinforce the words. The gesture reminded me of Tsumi. “If you’d rather focus elsewhere, I can assign an innkeeper.”

I shrugged. “Sounds good to me. You know what kind of security to implement. Set a fair rate, and let’s be sociable. I would want word spread about how friendly we are.”

“Aye, you think ahead, MG.” He pointed toward the western pass. “Did you see them?”

I followed the line from his finger, scanned the area for something new, but didn’t see anything. Then I looked again, and my lips tightened to form a circle.

“Dude.”

Two towers the color of the rocky cliffs behind them rose on each corner where the pass emptied into the valley. Dark recesses starting at about twenty feet off the ground dotted their stony face in every direction to almost the top of seventy-foot structures. I imagined mage defenders raining down hell on intruders and archers letting their arrows fly from those dark little holes.

“We finally have guard towers.” I slapped Pulo’s back. “Grade A shit, my dwarfish friend.”

“Aye, now we just have to man them.” And with that, he was off to greet our new gnome.

I turned to find Emilia standing behind me and to the left, like I usually did when she was tiptoeing around in her efforts to make me jump. “Hello, darling.”

“Hello, love. How may I serve?”

“By answering my question. Where in the fuck are Desini and Liatra?”

13

Emilia drew me back into the stone passage leading to the newly marbled great room, then down the next to my sleeping quarters. My impatience almost got the better of me, but I pushed it down with a few deep breaths until we arrived.

“Why here?”

“Because you wouldn’t want the discussion to fall on meddlesome ears.”

“Must be pretty bad, then.”

“It depends on your perspective. And your first inclination might be to grind your teeth, as you often do.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Your jaw muscles work furiously. Either way, allow me to cut to the chase. Desini left before sunup this morning.”

She barely got the last word out before I barked. “Left for where?” I feared I knew the answer.

One side of Emilia’s lips slanted, but she stayed silent.

I raised a submissive hand. “Fine, I’ll let you tell me.”

“Thank you. She had Liatra open a portal to New Ninn.”

The reason for her journey to the great elven city on the high cliffs of the northeastern coast of Rubal was obvious, but I didn’t interrupt. It would just irritate Emilia, and there was no point in both of us being on edge.

“She plans to use the portal there—as she did before with the queen—to follow the chain of wayportals back to the west.”

I couldn’t maintain my silence. “She’s going to find Priya.”

“Her words were, ‘I’m going to scout the situation. Please do not notify Gemini until after the upgrade.’ I guess she knew you’d be distracted and too enthusiastic to notice their absence.”

“She was wrong. Why did you play along?”

She frowned. “You think I betrayed you.”

I considered the elven woman’s perspective. She probably didn’t want to come running to me and lose Desini’s trust any more than she wanted to risk losing mine. Besides, if elves were anything, it was deliberative. Knowing how much I trusted her, Emilia weighed the two sides and that was the outcome.

She continued before I could answer. “Well, I didn’t betray you.”

“That simple, huh?”

“Yes.”

“How do you figure?”

“Because sometimes it’s not all about you, Gemini Fowler. All your bound companions were promised you would never keep them from being where they wanted to be. That they would enjoy free will.”

“And they have.”

She shook her head. “But what value holds a promise until it’s been put to the test?” She pressed an index finger to her chest. “I trust you, but word of this little test of your will, your honesty, will inevitably travel around the foundation. When people ask where Desini and Liatra went, and they learn you didn’t try to bring them back against their wills, it will garner you even more loyalty. They will see it as an indicator of your honesty, your own loyalty toward them all.”

“So, you did it for me.”

“I did it for all involved. You saw how Desini was, Gemini. Her impatience, her irritation, the way she snapped at anyone who spoke to her. And since you made her your left hand while Pulo is your right, the people here need to know they can trust her. If she’s strolling around biting peoples’ heads off, we all suffer for it.”

“None of you understand.”

“What don’t we understand?”

“She can’t fix this. None of you can.”

“Which leads me to believe you know something the rest of us don’t.”

Heat rose to my face, and my heartbeat doubled its pace. “You wouldn’t freaking understand it if I told you! The explanation is…is… not of this world, Emilia!”

She didn’t flinch. “I’m willing to take your word for that. Desini wasn’t.”

“I didn’t have the chance to find that out for myself. That’s why I’m pissed. She didn’t come to me.”

“But she did. She said as much. After the goddess’s appearance last night, she expected Priya would be returned. The two of you argued, yes?” I nodded. “That added fuel to her fire. Desini loves Priya. That she would leave all behind to go after the lone member of the foundation who isn’t safe reinforces that, especially when she does it despite laying eyes on the goddess who comes to you in the night. I’m uncertain whether I have such courage.”

I turned, paced into the hallway, then wheeled on my heels to face her again. “I have a foundation to run.”

“I recommend you do not reach out to Desini or Liatra. They’ve made their decision.”

“And how do you know I won’t uncheck the Free-Roam box?”

Emilia strode past me and up the hallway. Her voice echoed off the smooth stone walls. “If I thought you a liar, I wouldn’t have let them go in the first place.”

A thought occurred. “Hey, wait a second.”

She turned, pulled her braid over one shoulder, then traced its inner creases with her fingers.

“You said Liatra and Desini left. What about Mashini? Did she know her sister was leaving?”

Emilia nodded. “She refused to go with her. I see the surprise in your expression, and I was equally taken aback.” She dropped the braid, flung her arms out to the sides, and shrugged. “I guess Mashini is her own person, regardless of how close they are.” As she turned away, she added, “Talk about loyalty.”

The words Liatra spoke to me more times than I could count came on a brainwave.

Where thee goes, I go.

So much for that shit.

Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned.

Speak of the devil. How do people around here sneak up on me so easily?

Mashini set her hands on her hips. “I love my sister, but I am not my sister. You would do well to remember that, master.” Then she retreated toward the great room.

I called after her. “A fair reminder. Thank you for staying.”

She tossed a lazy wave over one shoulder.

On my return trip to the plateau, I gave several flashing icons on the periphery of my interface their due attention. If nothing else, they’d distract me.

Now that you’ve upgraded to a township, you may summon ten more laborers, for a maximum of twenty.

Your defender cap has been increased to 75.

You may now summon up to 30 Cavalry.

Your stables have been upgraded to house up to 45 mounts.

A new feature has been unlocked in your barracks!

Mage Defenders

You may now summon up to 20 mages to defend your foundation. These magic wielders come in the following varieties:

Fire Mage

Ice Mage

Wind Mage

Stone Mage

Druid

Summoner

The number of mages you summon will count against your defender cap.

Guard towers have been added to the western and northern passes.

One pine and two spruce thickets have sprouted on the northern side of your foundation.

I exited the tunnel and spied Pulo crossing the plateau accompanied by a short figure with green-tinted skin and a bald head wearing black pants and an overcoat that hung halfway to his knees. I was about to introduce myself when one of the indicators flashed red.

An eligible resource station has been captured in the name of a sworn enemy:

Enemy: King Luttrell

Name: Brumhill

Rank: Township

Average defender level: 40

“Brumhill? How the hell did they—”

Then it hit me. The soldier from Trowlsby who I’d beheaded said that they’d already slipped right by the elves, under their noses. So, a team, a regiment—something—had bypassed Warrington altogether and made the journey a couple days south to the first town I’d ever seen in Enora. It also answered Timpy’s and my question about why the small town’s trading status had changed.

A name floated in my mind.

Branson Breeder.

The rotund man with the long mustache was the first to equip Desini for a life of combat. I wondered what had become of him if the king had taken Brumhill, but it just so happened I planned on going there on my way to see Zhara.

You are being offered a quest:

Liberation

Your sworn enemy has captured a town in Eastern Rubal.

Objectives:

Capture Brumhill in the name of Skyyville.

Defeat All Defenders.

Name a mayor.

Assign a foreman.

Rewards:

25,000 XP

2,000 gold coins

One full level at the time of completion of all objectives, in addition to any earned XP.

Limitations:

Party size: 5

Level cap: 45

Note: You can recruit rebels from inside a community in your efforts to capture it.

A familiar figure exited the Architect’s Cabin then strolled across the plateau toward the Alchemist’s Lab.

“Yo! Guiles!”

The elf’s loose strands of white hair blew wildly off his shoulders to flap behind him when he turned toward me then approached. “Shénhuà.”

“Prince.”

He smirked, then craned his neck forward just a tick. “Is something amiss?”

“Seems we’re eligible to expand our foundation into an empire of sorts. I never saw it in the guide, but that’s what I get for letting Pulo be its replacement. Awesome as he is—”

“Tell me about this empire.”

“That soldier who told us they’d slipped past the elves as they moved in on Trowlsby? Well, I just got an alert that Brumhill has been captured by the king.”

He nodded. “Ah. It must have been a small group because they chose to take Brumhill instead of Warrington.”

“That’s what I was thinking at first, but now that I reassess, there could be a second purpose. What if they opened a portal in Brumhill, brought in soldiers from Trowlsby, then marched North to Warrington? Then they’d have your army pinned from the north and south.”

“Hmm. Possible.” He pinched his chin with a thumb and forefinger.

“The average defender level is forty. The quest I just accepted says I can only go in with five people. Isn’t that kind of strange? Five party members to capture a town, and a level cap of forty-five?”

“Shénhuà, what would I have to compare this to? You’ll recall I spent my whole life having never laid eyes on a foundation stone until you received one as a quest reward. It seems they’re only provided by the goddess to the ones she sends from your world.”

“Right. Well, them’s the rules.”

“I wonder what’s to stop me from taking ten of our highest-level elves south and purging Brumhill of the invasion force.”

“Like you, I have no frame of reference. Could be that we just wouldn’t get the credit for taking the resource asset. Then again, it might be instanced now.”

“Instanced? Why would it be?”

When we entered the Plague Barrens, Guiles had regaled us with lore about how Solara imprisoned demons in different instances to keep them out of the world above. In the same way he wouldn’t understand instances really just served players, that Solara would separate Brumhill into instances was beyond his frame of reference. But I’d seen it a million times.

First one to take the town gets the resources.

“Let’s set aside my theories for a minute.”

“Something else prickling in your brain, Gemini? Maybe the sudden loss of your tank and primary healer—especially in light of a quest to head south with a limitation of five party members?”

“Do you have an ability that allows you to read minds?”

Guiles shook his head. “Believe it or not, we often think alike.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Considering how much older—and hopefully wiser—I am, you should.”

“You knew about Desini and Liatra?”

“Not until Emilia warned me your mood might be sour about two minutes ago.”

“At least you’re still on my side.”

“Taking sides against your own is ill-advised. I understand why everyone involved is thinking what they’re thinking, and I can’t hold any of you at fault.”

I nodded. “I’d do well to adopt that disposition.”

“Agreed. Now, to the practical matter. You’re absent a tank, and you’re missing a healer. With a level cap of forty-five and an average enemy level of forty-two, Charney is ill-suited for this outing.”

“I considered that.”

“And now your ego fuels the need to express it aloud.”

I didn’t laugh.

“No?” Guiles sighed. “Fine. You’re not in the mood.”

“Of course not. I was going to send Desini, Liatra, and Yakol to the front to help you after we cleared out Greycutter.”

“Forget Greycutter. The siege will serve to cut off that supply line to Trowlsby, anyway. I’ll speak to the commander of the Second Assassins Brigade. I’m sure they’ll stay here and aid in the defense of your foundation if the cavalry we encountered outside ever garners the courage to attack. I have plenty of tanks on the front. We’ll miss Liatra’s heals, but she’s one person. Send Yakol to me, and we’ll call it even.”

“More than fair.”

“In the meantime, I think I can solve for your problem, and since I can’t spare any people, I’m happy to see you go south and handle the Brumhill challenge.”

“Okay, fix my problem.”

“You must tank.”

I was all-too-familiar with the sensations of blades slicing me open absent any pain mitigation, so that shit was off the table about as soon as he’d spoken the suggestion. But before I could protest, he grasped my shoulder.

“Boruda.”

“What’d you call me?”

His head lolled back, and the elf rolled his eyes. “Come, Shénhuà. Your Boruda stance is for off-tanking.” He threw out his arm to point to his left. “Did we not spend the better part of a week practicing, where you provoked defenders away from Desini?”

“Yeah, but while I can garner hate from enemies, I don’t wear plate.”

“Your armor is lacquered. It’s like stone. That won’t be a problem. Just take a strong healer—if you can convince her to go.”

We didn’t have to say the name out loud to know we were on the same page.

“Yeah, that’s the tricky part. She keeps pretty busy.”

“I think you’ll be surprised.” He turned toward the new and improved smithy. “Oh, and providing an interim replacement when you pull her away from her work might push things your way. Give her fewer reasons to deny you.”

Between the outer facades of the Architect’s and Master’s Cabins, I traced the lines of the freshly upgraded temple. It was a real building, boasted a high-rising steeple, and stained-glassed windows had been added to the sides. Charney wouldn’t want to leave it this soon, but duty called. Brumhill waited.

I opened a private chat, then invited Tsumi, Mashini, and Emilia. I typed a single line.

[G3m1n1:] Who’s up for a little rebellion?

14

Kinst Spindle flagged me down as I descended the steps. The woman Liatra resurrected then led back to him after we’d escaped the calvary matched his speedy gait.

“Master Fowler, allow me to introduce my colleague, Soji Grey.”

The middle-aged woman whipped off her head scarf, crossed her arm over her midsection, then bowed. “My esteemed honor to meet you. I never got the chance to properly thank you for bringing me back from the void.”

I waved. “It’s no problem. Liatra’s used to it by now.”

Kinst waved his hand in the direction I was headed before he interjected. “May we walk with you, Shénhuà?”

“Sure. I was just going to our chapel. It’s been upgraded today.”

The woman’s eyes flared. “It was hard to miss! We were standing out here when the earthquake began and, when the cliffs started moving…. well, you can imagine!”

Shit. I left them outside.

Sec continued. “Well, I’d love to see your chapel.”

“Then you shall.”

Kinst pressed his hat to his chest and revealed a spherical bald spot surrounded by an otherwise fluffy nest of chestnut hair swirling around his head in the breeze. “After you aided us, I reached out to Stonespire’s mayor. It’ll be of little surprise we’ve all heard of you, but when I told him how those thugs accosted us and how you went out to rescue Soji, he insisted we pledge allegiance to your foundation.”

I halted my march. “Really?”

Both travelers nodded, but Soji answered. “Without question. The mayor insisted we give Skyyville favored trading partner status.”

The relevant information popped into my HUD as if it’d heard her.

Now that your foundation has reached the Township rank, smaller communities may pledge their allegiance to Skyyville. In addition, your township may pledge allegiance to larger communities, as long as the population outnumbers your own. If the population of a community pledging allegiance to another surpasses that of the benefitting partner, the pledge will be nullified, but separate contracts can be scribed between partners when this occurs.

Any of the following pledges fulfill the criteria for allegiance:

Favored Trading Partner

Requirement: Pledgee must maintain a reputation of friendly with the pledging community.

The pledger offers a discount on traded goods or some other economic benefit not offered to other partners.

First State Status

The pledgee is recognized as the official capital of their territory, although the pledgee’s community is a separate entity.

Requirement: Pledgee must maintain a reputation of friendly with the pledging community.

Treaties

The community to whom allegiance is being pledged may also offer a return pledge to create a binding treaty between the two parties.

Note: Pledges of allegiance can be withdrawn any time, but treaties, like contracts, can only be broken when the party breaking it pays the stipulated penalties.

Any of the following pledges given in return for a pledge of allegiance fulfill the criteria for a treaty:

Tier 1: Pledge to Defend

The pledgee promises to come to the defense of the smaller community, or pledger, in times of war or other conflict.

Favored Harvester

The pledgee assigns a segment of land in the pledgee’s territory with access to natural resources for the smaller community to harvest in return for economic advantages.

Tier 2: Pledge of Peace

Favored Fellows

The pledger is allowed to reside on the land where they harvest material from the pledgee’s community.

Although captured communities become part of your foundation’s state, pledgers do not surrender their autonomy when offering their allegiances unless a statehood treaty is signed by both parties.

Dual Citizenship

The pledger is allowed to reside in any township or city that falls under the pledgee’s domain as a citizen. This treaty is reciprocal in nature.

Mind blown, I gave a deep bow of my own. “I consider it an honor that you’d choose to make us your favored trading partner, and we gladly accept your pledge. If you’d be so kind as to allow me a little time to deal with some… regional business, I’d like to bring my council together to talk about the possibility of a treaty.”

Soji shook her head. “The mayor was clear. There’s no expectation you would reciprocate our gesture. After all, it’s you who saved my life. And even though we lost some goods, you can’t put a price on a soul.”

A soul. More like a bunch of ones and zeroes that form a digital being. Or that’s what I was telling myself to keep my emotions in check on other matters.

“It was our pleasure to help. Still, I plan to discuss it with my people.”

“We appreciate the gesture.”

I pulled open the door to the chapel to allow the pair to enter before me. The place was barren, which was no surprise following an upgrade. The citizens were checking out their new digs, and Pulo’d already scheduled meetings with different laborer types to discuss changes.

Charney stood behind the altar atop a raised platform Moggy’d built prior to the upgrade so the goblin could be seen by worshippers in the front row when the pious foundation members filled the pews.

“Yo, weasel face. I was wondering if your altar could drop a blessing on these two for their return trip.”

“Hey, monkey breath. Check this place out.” He threw up his arms then his mouth widened to reveal the sharp goblin teeth beneath. His sister’s were more human, and seeing Charney’s made me grateful for it.

The arch at the center of the upgraded chapel rose about ten feet higher than before, and I’d noticed an increase in pews when I entered.

Charney dropped his hands. “And yes. If you two just kneel before the altar and send a kind word to your creator, it will do the work… as long as I’m in the vicinity.”

I wondered if the mishon showed up as often as they did because the blessings from the altar buffed their production. It was just the kind of thing Pulo would recommend.

Kinst Spindle knelt. “How kind.”

Soji threw the stone altar a curious gander but eventually knelt next to her comrade. They dipped their heads, then their lips moved without sound. A moment later, text popped up and rose skyward, as if from their skull caps.

+10% movement speed

Duration: 24 hours

+5 Stamina

Duration: 24 hours

The vendors thanked me a final time, and I returned the sentiment. “We genuinely look forward to growing Skyyville’s relationship with Stonespire.” I bent my head forward. Soji smiled, Kinst saluted, then they were off.

“Charney, gonna need you to do something for me.” The goblin shot me a suspicious look and got a closeup of the lines on my palm to stave off any objections. “And it doesn’t require you to engage in any kind of combat.”

After listening to what I had to say, he threw up his hands again. This time, for a very different reason. He closed his eyes, and his jaw slackened like it was on a hinge. “Why would I want to cater to a bunch of sniveling, ungrateful—”

I flicked up an index finger, “Out of gratitude to the woman who trained you.” I added the middle finger. “Because I asked you to.” Then I dropped the pointer to flip him the bird. “And because I’m going to capture Brumhill for the foundation.”

His forehead wrinkled, and his eyelids receded. “Oh. Now you have my interest.”

“Good.”

15

Although I’d asked Pulo to handle assigning a master fisherman and an innkeeper, two pieces of business remained before I took our collective’s show on the road. With that in mind, I went to our combat center.

The rails surrounding the barracks’ wooden practice floor were finely polished and rose high enough that I could drop my forearms and relax a bit as I watched.

To the right stood three men and two women. Four wore black robes with the hoods crumpled up behind their necks. All were elven—practical for these purposes since they enjoyed a racial trait that increased their mana recovery rate. The fifth wore a white robe with gold trim and was the lone blonde of the bunch.

I’d spent an extra twenty gold apiece when I summoned the crew to grant them an extra ten combat levels at birth. At the foundation rank, I’d been able to summon level five defenders. When we reached Hamlet, they started at level ten, and all the existing defenders had been promoted. When we upgraded to Borough, new summoned combatants started at level twenty.

The level floor increased by ten again when we upgraded to township that day, and the magicians would summon at the same levels as the archers and melee troops—thirty. But for an extra twenty gold per new summon, I could raise them to level forty.

On the left side of the mini arena stood Emilia, Tsumi, Mashini, and Yakol.

Except for the entryway onto the arena floor—which I’d insisted remain clear—a mix of archers and melee fighters formed a circle around the rails as Pulo took up a spot to my left and Guiles to my right.

I called into the open area. “Everyone understand the rules?”

Mashini shook her head. “Why do they get a healer, but you leave us without?”

“Good question. Let me answer it with one of my own. What will you all do in combat if your healer is taken out?”

Tsumi turned a hand over. “I’ll start healing.”

“Right, but your mana pool is tiny. How long will that last?”

“I’ll swig a potion. Play a healing-over-time tune.”

“Okay, then do that during this little test. Any other questions?”

The summoned healer in the white robe muttered something under her breath.

I shook my head. “Speak up, Sirah. We’re all friends here.”

Her cheeks pinkened. “I was just wondering why they complain about the lack of a healer when we have no front-line fighters.”

“A fine point. Seems to balance things, doesn’t it?”

Sirah wasn’t convinced. “All due respect, Master Gem—MG—it tilts the advantage in their favor.”

A balding mage with only a couple twisty curls for hair atop an otherwise bald dome spat. “The healer thinks they have the advantage. Might want to learn a little about your team before—”

I cut him off. “And you have no idea what you’re up against. I only spent half your skill points when I summoned you, so you’re not at full strength, either. Shut it and let’s get serious.”

Emilia looked across the way at the soft targets in the robes then drew a bolt from the quiver she’d strung onto one hip—right where I carried mine when I switch to Hunter or Ranger.

I clicked my tongue. “Emilia?”

She turned her hungry expression my way. “Yes, Gemini?”

“No ranged attacks for you. Melee only.”

Her neck craned backward. “Dude!”

Despite the warmth I felt from her adoption of my vernacular, I shook my head. “Daggers only, dear.”

“Gah. It’s like you want us to lose. Fine.”

“Again, this engagement is not about winners and losers. It’s about perseverance. Adaptability. Everyone cut the complaining and let’s get to work.” I leaned toward Pulo and spoke in a low tone. “Summon a new master-at-arms, spend the gold to get him to level forty.”

“Aye, MG. We’ll see it done.”

“What race will take the least shit off people?”

“Orcs. They’re edgy. Direct.”

“Make it so.”

Pulo chuckled and his belly rumbled. “Aye, MG.”

I raised a hand. “Begin!”

As party leader, Emilia sent the duel request to the healer on the other side. With a quick nod, she accepted.

Yakol raised his great axe then charged the enemy fighters. Casting bars filled over two of the dark-robed magician’s heads, then a blanket of fire erupted across the beast master’s entire body. He howled, but it did nothing to slow him down.

I focused on one of the dark casters in my interface.

Ritley

Level 40 Shadow Mage

Upgrades available!

You have not selected an Advanced Combat Profession for Ritley.

You may choose from the following classes:

Black Mage

Shadowmancer

Shadow Sorcerer

Illusionist

Although combatants bound to me chose their advanced combat professions at level twenty then received specialty classes at thirty, defenders didn’t receive specially classes at all. To top it off, they couldn’t be assigned ACPs until they were level forty.

Which was why I paid to have the new group upgraded. I skimmed the list, then assigned a class to Ritley. Since he was in a duel—and not engaged in actual combat—I didn’t have to wait until the engagement was over.

Besides, it was a dirty little trick to play on my party, and that was part of the reason for the exercise.

Curveballs.

Are you sure you wish to assign the ACP Black Mage to Ritley?

I skimmed the description a final time. Even though Priya was a black mage and I’d seen the class in action, it made sense to ensure any limitations placed on defenders were realized before I committed.

Some of the strongest shadow magic casters in Enora, Black Mages use powerful spell combinations to devour their enemies.

Role: DPS

Armor: Cloth

Weapons: Staves, cudgels, wands, daggers, and off-hand weapons like orbs and prisms from the Shadow family of magic.

Primary Attribute: Intelligence

Attribute Bonus: +1% spell accuracy per point spent in Intellect.

Secondary Attribute: Wisdom

Spirit Ability: This defender is not eligible for spirit abilities.

Special Abilities: Dark Siphon, Shadow Scythe, Blind, Drain Mana

Ability Pool: Mana

Dark Siphon

The caster calls on the powers of Shadow to drain the life force from an enemy to replenish their own.

Shadow Scythe

The caster summons a blade of dark energy that attacks three times in rapid succession.

Blind

The caster fills enemies’ eyes with black shadow for seven seconds, blinding them completely. Repeated uses have diminishing returns.

Drain Mana

The caster funnels mana out of the enemy’s pool to refill their own. For each point drained, 0.75 is granted to the caster.

“That’ll do,” I muttered.

Ritley is now a level 40 Black Mage.

A whistling sound brought my head up in time to catch sight of one of Mashini’s new bladed boomerangs as it returned from the rear rank where the healer stood alone. The initial wonderment about whether the mishon might slice her hands open if she caught the boomerang wrong was swept away when a gap opened in the healer’s neck then blood flowed over her white robe. but the mishon snatched it upon return with no injuries.

Sirah the healer retreated to the back rail, throwing up one hand to cast a healing-over-time spell before gaining enough distance to stay out of melee range. Then she cast a full heal to close the wound. It was a nice move, even though she risked more damage from the bleed effect, because it forced Mashini closer to the enemy combatants. The mishon didn’t enjoy the kind of range bowmen did.

And the gamble paid off. The newly anointed black mage cast Blind, and Mashini’s eyes were covered by dark fog that penetrated then turned them black.

Mashini Sherre is blinded.

Guiles tapped my right shoulder. “One of them needs crowd control.”

I nodded. “I know, but let’s see how they would perform if it was on cooldown. They’re pretty good at fanning out and avoiding Yakol’s wide swipes, but Emilia—”

As soon as I spoke her name, Emilia broke camouflage and slid her dagger into the healer’s back. The summoned caster dropped to both knees, and the elf grinned up at me as she crossed the daggers in front of the woman’s throat then slit it wide open. She shoved her boot into the healer’s back, kicked her to the ground, then crouched low.

Her form adopted the patterns and colors of the world surrounding her as she crept toward another caster.

“Mistake, Shénhuà.”

I eyed Guiles. “What’s that?”

“Putting an elf into the lineup when you’re trying to test your new summons.”

“You might be right.” I cupped my hands to my mouth and shouted, “Defenders! Now!”

The troops surrounding the floors whipped out swords then began tapping the rails. Spearmen tapped the ends of their shafts on the floor. The rhythm soon merged to create a steady, syncopated rhythm.

Tsumi raised the flute Latrissa Vane fashioned for her in the wood shop, curled her top lip over the hole, then blew. Her fingers flipped with agility in a quick scale that resonated from low to high. Letters popped over the heads of the other party members.

+10 Magic Resistance

I nodded my approval. “Nice.”

Emilia dropped another caster. I sighed. So much for distractions.

Guiles chuckled. “You know she was the best fighter in her class from five years old until she completed the trials, right?”

I whipped my head around. “The question is, why didn’t I know that? I mean, I already know she’s badass, but the best among elves, too?”

“Yes.”

“Emilia!” I shouted.

She wheeled.

“Off the floor!”

The elven nightmare’s shoulders dropped, but she obeyed. I turned my attention to the beast master, whose brutal swing of his axe barely missed the black mage.

When the force of his swing brought him in a 360-degree turn, the caster waited until he was out of the attacker’s sight, then raised a hand to unleash an instant spell. A glowing black-and-lilac blade appeared, slitting the back of Yakol’s neck.

A trained combatant of the best kind, Yakol endured the mitigated pain and completed his spin. But when he raised his axe again, the mage was gone.

Ritley had blinked out of existence to reappear at the opposite side of the arena with a comfortable cushion of space between him and the three remaining attackers. A second later, he was casting again.

A warbling river of purple energy crossed the space, connected with Yakol, then brightened.

Ritley casts Dark Siphon.

Yakol

-44 HP

Ritley

+22 HP

Yakol

-44 HP

Ritley

+22 HP

Yakol

-44HP

Ritley

+22 HP

Yakol

-44 HP

Although Emilia had tipped the scales in her team’s favor, pulling her off the floor left the beast master as the lone melee attacker. Since I hadn’t let him use his pets because the summoned defenders didn’t have a tank, I hadn’t expected him to last long, but when my mind put together what I’d just witnessed, I grinned. The beast master’s health had dropped to 27-percent.

I elbowed Guiles. “They surrounded him. Took turns drawing his ire with their fire spells, then the black mage blink-tanked him.”

Blink tanks focused on evasiveness instead of armor. I’d always thought of Desini as a hybrid between the two.

Guiles nodded. “Impressive. Although it isn’t technically a provoking skill, he definitely drew Yakol’s attention.”

I waved a dismissive hand. “Semantics.”

“Success is in the details, Shénhuà.”

“Always the teacher, prince. Time to test the other side.”

I opened a private chat I’d established prior to the battle.

Private Chat

[G3m1n1:] Yakol, do it.

[Yakol:] Yes, sir!

The beast master hustled away from the semi-circle of mages pressing in on him. Tsumi drew the lute from her back in a blur. She strummed three loud chords that bounced off the walls, the tone continuing to resonate long after she finished playing.

Tsumi plays Refreshing Progression.

+5% HP Recovery for fifteen seconds

Yakol receives Refreshing Progression.

+5% HP Recovery for fifteen seconds

Mashini Receives Refreshing Progression.

+5% HP Recovery for fifteen seconds

Tsumi Receives Refreshing Progression.

+5% HP Recovery for fifteen seconds

As their red health bars ticked up, a silvery wolf scurried in from behind the crowd and through the entry way to join the fray. A spider skittered in its wake.

Yakol waved one hand in a circular motion overhead then swept it toward the black mage. The wolf launched.

Caught off guard, Ritley interrupted an attack he’d aimed at the Templar beast master to turn his attention toward the encroaching threat, but the shocked expression on his face told us all what we already knew.

The wolf was too fast, and the trick was about to pay off.

Guiles shook his head in derision. “Their first training session, and you bring out the pets. Is this how you establish trust, Shénhuà?”

“Trust will come when we talk afterward and I explain why. Don’t worry.”

He leaned on the rail, cringing as the wolf pounced on its victim. The mage let out a high-pitched yelp as the weight of the beast put him on his back.

The spider picked another black-robed target and impaled her with two razor claws. Even I flinched when they burst through the caster’s back then exploded through her chest, sending gore splashing onto another of the nearby mages.

The final two casters dipped to their knees, indicating their surrender. The glowing circles beneath all the combatants’ feet faded, and the red markers overhead vanished, indicating the duel was over.

The healer who’d been gutted by Emilia’s daggers was cast in a golden glow. She was lifted from the floor, rolled in mid-air, then settled gently onto her sandaled feet. After blinking a few times, she scanned the surrounding crowd in confusion.

Yakol’s wolf bit the air before Ritley but could no longer attack since combat mode had ended. Had it been my porcupunk or another summoned pet, it would’ve known the fight was over, but something about beast masters’ companions made them different.

The Templar called his animals back to his side.

Pulo pushed off the rail and stood tall—well, tall for Pulo. “What do you think, MG? All black mages?”

I shook my head. “We’re going to split them up so they serve with their own defense teams. Since Blind is their only crowd control method and it’s limited to single targets, we need to be selective. I plan to have Ritley in one of the western towers, and”—I pointed toward the female the spider had pursued— Sirah in the north. Until we can summon more, just one each. The other three will be fighting at ground level with their battalions.”

Guiles leaned on the rail. “What will you do with the single healer?”

“Put her in the cavalry. Get her riding skill up. By the time we’ve risen it a few ranks, we’ll be able to summon five more defenders.” I turned my attention to Pulo. “Two healers, three offensive.”

Guiles twisted his lips to one side. “Why the black mages in the towers?”

“Longest spell-casting range.”

“Ah. Good thinking.”

I pointed at another shadow caster. “Blinda seemed a little more methodical with her casting. I’d usually like that, but it really slowed her down. I think a class with lots of burst damage from instant casting spells for her. Let’s see.”

I focused on the defender mage.

Blinda

Level 40 Shadow Mage

You have not selected an Advanced Combat Profession for this defender. You may select from the following ACPs:

Black Mage

Shadowmancer

Shadow Sorcerer

Illusionist

I perused the third option. The class specialized in summoning mirror images of the caster and other combatants. When mirroring itself, it would create two identical attackers to confuse enemies about which one to target, not to mention doling out three spells for each one cast. I’d definitely employ one to wreak havoc during engagements when we summoned the next group.

What I really liked was how the illusionist’s cast times were relatively short when it came to these replications of herself and others. Two seconds was so quick, it bordered on OP. But the system balanced it out when it came to the elemental spells she’d follow up with. The shortest casting time on those was three seconds. Three seconds was an eternity. And the Meteoric Bombardment spells took a whopping seven seconds to cast.

But replicating ten plate-wearing soldiers to confuse and attack our enemies—albeit at half the damage per attack—was an easy call.

Do you wish to assign the ACP Illusionist to Blinda?

I did. Golden light flashed around her. Her arms jerked, then she pivoted to face me. “Thank you, Master Gemini.”

Blinda has called you Master.

Daily score:

Desini: 2

G3m1n1: 0

The reminder of my AWOL tank took the air out of my sails, but I returned the bow. “You’re welcome. I hope it serves you well.”

I strolled onto the floor, waving all the combatants toward me. Once they’d gathered, I began the debrief.

“Yakol, thanks for your help. Although you’ll be moving on to the front to aid the elves, it was kind of you to assist before you leave. The pets were just the distraction I needed.”

Yakol clapped my shoulder so hard I dipped forward. “My pleasure, Gemini.”

A sudden shock ran up my neck resulting from the blow.

-2 HP

What the hell? Why was he able to hit me that hard?

When I’d once pissed Priya off, she’d tried to slap me outside the cave, but her hand stopped short because a system rule mandated that companions couldn’t attack players.

I thrust a finger at him. “Yakol, punch me in the chest.” Then I whirled the pointer on the summoned healer. “Tchala, heal me after.”

Yakol shook his head vociferously. “Nay, I will not assault the goddess’s chosen.” Despite my glare, he took two steps back, his plate clanking as he went. “Nay.”

I rolled my eyes. “Emilia.”

The elf stepped forward, drew back, then punched me so hard my head twisted, and I took a faltering step to right myself.

Emilia cleans your clock.

-31 HP

A flash of golden light warmed my whole body, then the pain receded.

I squinted one eye at the elven ranger. “I said ‘my chest.’” After her answering grin, I muttered, “Fucker.”

My dwarven foreman walked onto the combat floor.

“Pulo, when did the rule about companions attacking their masters change?”

The dwarf shrugged. “After you returned from bettering Underlord Caym, Gemini. I thought you knew.”

Again, I’d received no update notices. I’d have to use the special channel Katelyn planned to provide to me to contact her about using me as the guinea pig for system messages going forward. If they were releasing in a few days, maybe they’d better make sure shit worked.

Jesus.

“My party… go gear up. We’re off for Warrington in thirty minutes.” Emilia and the rest of the crew exchanged handshakes with their opponents then exited the floor. When they were gone, I addressed the casters. “You all did a good job, especially considering I only granted one of you an advanced combat profession during battle. In the coming days, we’ll be summoning a new master-at-arms for the barracks. I’ll have each of you assigned to a squad of defenders, except for Tchala.” The healer raised an eyebrow. “You’ll be assigned to the cavalry, and your time over the next week will be dedicated to your riding skill.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“No prob.” I explained what I’d discussed with Guiles, then assigned their classes.

Blinda:

Level 40 Illusionist

Calen

Level 40 Black Mage

Ritley:

Level 40 Black Mage

Sirah:

Level 40 Shadow Sorcerer

Tchala:

Level 40 White Mage

Satisfied, I strolled out of the barracks with Pulo and Guiles. We walked south toward the steps, and I couldn’t help but feel encouraged by the sight of my freshly upgraded township and how far we’d come.

When we reached the plateau, Pulo turned off at the master’s cabin. “I’ll assign the master fisherman and the innkeeper today, MG.”

“Don’t forget the master-at-arms.”

“Masters-at-arms can be summoned by mined gold or from the foundation’s coffers. Since we spent real gold to summon the scribe and pay for the level increases on the defender mages, I thought I’d wait a day so we could mine more gold instead of depleting resources best used elsewhere.”

“Oh, that works.” I should’ve been embarrassed.

We entered the cave—a label that hardly fit anymore when viewed from the front tunnel or the Great Room—and Guiles stopped me before I could go to my quarters.

“Gemini, I will be returning to the front as soon as Yakol arrives. I have a mage standing by to tune a portal for us.”

I grasped his hand. “Good luck, dude. When I’m done in Brumhill and have spoken with Zhara, I’ll send you a clan chat.” We hugged, but before I entered the rear tunnel, I stopped and turned. “How is a mage opening a portal if they aren’t bound here?”

“We have a portable tuning pedestal like those in the receiving room in Warrington.”

“I didn’t know such a thing existed.”

Guiles curved his mouth. “Should I act surprised, or is my understanding of your ignorance about the world surrounding you apparent?”

“Fuck you, too, buddy.”

A stream of white light split the air between us then expanded, blocking my view of Guiles with a vision of a green hillside with canopies flapping in the wind, horses milling about, and slender figures wearing silver plate, their long white hair blowing as they paced back and forth.

Guiles’s voice echoed off the walls. “May you forever be contented in the Light, Gemini Fowler.”

“Same to you, Prince Renard.”

I entered my quarters to find Validis playing a game akin to paddy cakes with my boy. I sat with him for almost half an hour before gearing up.

16

The portal’s energy rippled in contrast to the medium light of the Great Room as a scene with stone pedestals materialized on the other side. A robed figure wearing a silver circlet that disappeared into glossy, jet-black hair stepped into view. When she turned to face the portal, a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

She matched my expression, and it was like the world glowed around the first companion I’d gained in Enora.

I stepped through the portal and onto the stone pedestal on the other side. When Roshan threw her arms out, I stepped into her embrace.

“My beloved Gemini.” She squeezed so tightly I couldn’t help but notice how her soft tone and warm greeting contrasted the stoic, firm, and sometimes downright verbally harsh woman of before.

I grasped her shoulders, held her at arm’s length, then gazed into her oversized sienna irises. “It seems your new gig agrees with you.”

She cupped one side of my face. “Indeed. My pews are filled with parishioners from town three times per week, and so many of the students come for counseling. It fills the well of my soul.”

“I’m so glad, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I missed having you around.”

She nodded then looked over my shoulder. “Hello, Emilia.” She stepped around me to embrace my elven bodyguard, then greeted the other familiar faces in turn. “Welcome, Charney. Good to see you again, Mashini.” Then she thrust out a hand toward the umber-skinned westerner. “We have not met. I am Roshan, Clan Fortwan.”

“Priestess.” Tsumi bowed. “I am Tsumi Wilsey, bard and purveyor of goods.”

“Ah, a vendor?”

I shook my head. “A smuggler. And former acolyte to the Light temple in Brusaria.”

Roshan tilted her head to one side. “A strange combination. Is the temple grand?”

Tsumi nodded enthusiastically. “It is. Quite huge.”

“And you left the faith?”

“Not at all. I just found that I wasn’t cut out for counseling to the wicked.”

Roshan laughed. A full-throated sound rarely heard before. “It’s not for everyone, after all.”

The priestess stepped toward the door but stopped with her hand gripping the knob. “Do you have mounts?” She gestured toward a larger pedestal.

I eyed the door she stood before. “I don’t think they’ll fit through that.”

Roshan pursed her lips then pulled back a roll of mana-infused paper that covered the stone walls to keep heat inside. Beyond it stood a pair of double doors. “Added after the king’s men invaded Warrington so elves could bring their animals.”

“Awesome. But there’s no point in dragging the mounts around town. We’ll come back.”

“Fair point. Come, all of you. I’ll show you my little chapel.”

We left the room with stone pedestals used for opening portals all over the east and stepped into a cold drizzle that pricked my face, but not in an unpleasant way.

The sprawl of buildings forming the academy filled the scene on our left. We followed a stony walkway and passed a couple statues of men and women holding scrolls, wielding shields, and the like. A man with a curtain of straight white hair stepped out from behind one of them when we reached the crosswalk leading to the academy doors.

“Ah,” Roshan said. “Master Renard. Good timing.” She flashed glances at each of us. “Have you already met?”

I shook my head, then stepped forward to grasp his wrist in a traditional elven handshake. “I haven’t had the pleasure, but I’ve heard of you. A cousin of the prince’s, yes?”

Master Renard bowed. “Yes, Shénhuà. The honor is mine. Please call me Joren, and I hope the rest of your blessed party will do the same.”

Roshan turned her attention to the rest of my team. “Master Renard teaches Constitutional Development here at the academy. He tolerates the bickering of students forced to run laps around the field and train with wooden target dummies.”

“It’s not such a hassle as you describe, Master Roshan. Young, hungry minds must also be of sound body and spirit. So, your role and mine are just as vital to them as their other masters’.”

“Agreed.” She set a hand on his shoulder, then turned him to face the rest of my team. After introductions, she bowed to Renard. “We’re on our way to the temple where Gemini might tell me why he’s come to see me.”

“Does the goddess’s chosen spirit need a reason, priestess?”

Roshan blushed and grabbed my hand. “No, not at all. Especially since he also calls me family.”

I was so used to the old Roshan that I began to wonder if she was putting on airs. But I shoved the thought away.

Joren continued his trek down the walkway from north to south toward the main gate leading to Warrington while we continued west toward the chapel. Roshan led us through the rear entrance, across a small back room, then through a side door into the chapel proper.

She gestured to the wide stone structure on the platform fronting the pews. “We’ve just upgraded the altar. I quarried much stone, but the goddess granted me a few skill points. If any of you care for a buff, you need only kneel.”

Emilia, Tsumi, and Mashini circled then knelt before the altar. Roshan cast a wary gaze Charney’s way.

Charney showed her a palm then shook it side to side. “None for me, thanks. We upgraded our foundation this morning, and I got a nice buff to my Charisma. Something tells me I’m going to need it.”

Roshan squinted in suspicion, stepped onto the platform, then circled to the opposite side of the altar from the kneeling three. She raised her hands, closed her eyes, then her lips moved without making sound. A white flash surrounded each worshipper then flattened to gold before dissipating into motes that rose toward the arched ceiling.

That bit of pressing business done, she turned back to me. “And why would the goblin need a charisma buff, Gemini? Something to do with why you wanted to visit today while your mentor and friend prepares a siege of the largest city in the east?”

Busted.

“Has it something to do with Priya’s absence? Why Desini didn’t accompany you to grace me with her presence?” I thought I detected a hint of bitterness seeping through.

I asked the rest of the party to rest on the pews while I led Roshan into the tiny back room of the chapel. With the door closed tight behind us, I told her what’d happened in the west, starting with how Priya’s memories of life as Delphine eventually led to destruction—and some new gear—in Brusaria. I then explained the ‘demonic possession’ the best I could.

To her credit, Roshan didn’t interrupt.

I bit the inside of my cheek between phrases when I followed all that with how Desini bolted, Liatra in tow, and had probably reached the third wayportal by then.

At this, she frowned, then nodded. Her forehead wrinkled. “Is that all?”

“Isn’t it enough?”

“I’m merely asking if you’re finished, noob.”

There she was. I grinned. “The wayportals we captured are just the tip of the iceberg. It turns out enemy forces have taken Brumhill.”

Roshan’s frown returned, and I assumed it involved the memory of watching Priya and me have our throats slit open in the Brumhill Inn by the governor’s men when they came for Roshan more than the presence of forces to the south. Either way, her expression righted itself as I continued.

“Since we’ve upgraded to a Township, we can capture towns held by my sworn enemies.”

“Sworn…”

“The king declared me an enemy to the crown, so I reciprocated. Since his men captured Brumhill under the elves’ noses, I can take it from them and claim it as part of my…”

“Are you building a kingdom, Gemini?”

“Not exactly.” I waved it off. “I came to ask you to come with me to Brumhill.”

Roshan took a step back. “I cannot go to Brumhill. I must tend my…” She raised a finger “Ah. I wondered why you brought Charney. His level is too low for combat, Liatra is gone, so you came to ask me to heal your party.”

I raised both hands and shrugged.

“Hmm, a goblin in charge of my chapel. You know the sentiments about beasts deriving from the attacks of long ago have become muted since we re-tasked the academy and welcomed all races, but most of these people have never seen a goblin.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “I know! Come! We can solve for this now.”

“Wait, you mean you’re coming with me? No argument?”

Roshan turned, planted a kiss on my cheek, then chuckled as she drew away. “I can’t very well leave you on your own without a proper healer. Zhara must be informed, and if the path to her leads through Brumhill, then I’m serving a second purpose.”

“What’s that?”

“To stop those swine from moving on Warrington. Symbiosis. Certainly this has occurred to you.”

It had, but I was impressed how quickly she’d come to the conclusion. I nodded.

“Yes. Of course it has.” Roshan nodded. “If there’s a threat to my students and parishioners, then we shall shine the goddess’s holy light upon its darkness and burn it out of this world.”

Back when Desini, Priya, and I sought buffs for our trip to Greycutter Downs, where we planned to take out the pirate and bandit leader Blackbard, we’d come across a pretty thirty-something woman with shoulder-length hair who sold food buffs from a wide stoop with a platform erected in front. Now, as I approached that same stand, I saw the same woman. Again, fruit wraps lined her table, but a quick scan revealed her skills had increased. The items ranged from the low-level peach wraps we’d used to much higher-level foodstuffs.

Looli Graples waved when she saw us coming. “Well, hi, Roshan. Bring me some customers, did ya?”

Roshan nodded. “Possibly, but I was hoping to ask for a favor.”

Looli cocked an eyebrow. “What could the resident Druid of the Light possibly need from me?”

Roshan swung a hand toward the goblin. “Meet Charney.”

“Looli threw a two-fingered salute. “Hiya, Charney.”

“Yeah, um, hi.” Charney dipped is gaze toward the ground, and I wondered if it wasn’t because of the way his eyes seemed to gravitate toward Looli’s significant chest. Roshan wouldn’t have approved.

The eastern druid continued now that introductions were out of the way. “I have business with the Shénhuà. The king’s men have taken Brumhill and must be eradicated like the vermin they are. Charney will be taking my place for a while. I was hoping—”

Looli thrust a finger my way. “Wait! You’re him?” She winked her eyes in succession. “You are him!” She fanned herself, then did a double take. “But don’t I know you from somewhere?”

“I came through a couple months ago and bought some of your food. I returned your mother’s betrothal dress.”

Looli reached out with both hands then squeezed mine.

“You must think I’m a real dolt. How could I forget such a thing? You were with the pretty blonde and the mishon woman.”

I nodded.

“Well, Roshan, I’m still tickled to have that dress back. Anything you need. Name it.”

“I know how connected you are around town.”

Looli’s gaze gravitated toward Charney a second time. “You want me to smooth the path. Make sure people are ready for a goblin shepherd.”

Charney grunted. “Temporary shepherd.”

“You’ve got it. I’ll start spreading the word today. And tell you what…” She turned, ascended the steps, then rushed into the house. A few beats later, she returned with a small bag in her hand. “For your team. The buffs should buy you a little advantage. And don’t even think about trying to pay me.”

Roshan took the bag. “Thank you, Looli. You are very kind.”

Looli raised her shoulders, then tilted her whole body to one side before tossing a hand. “Who? Little ol’ me? Nah. Just doing my part. Time we taught that king a lesson, and something tells me you’re just the folks to do it.”

I hoped she was right.

17

When we entered the chapel through the front entrance, my magic bag smacked against my side, reminding me of its extra contents.

“I come bearing gifts.” I focused on the inventory pane in my interface until the item I sought appeared in my hand.

Roshan eyed the silken item then reached out and waited for me to place it in her hands, as if she might damage it by snatching it away. She winked both eyes in succession. Realizing I hadn’t analyzed it, I checked its attributes.

Waist Wrap of the Druid

This rare armor is fashioned using the finest silk.

Type: Armor

Slot: Waist

Quality: Very Rare

Durability: 100 of 100

+30 Spell Penetration

+35 Light Spells

“It’s wonderful, Gemini.” She brushed my face with her hand. “How did you fashion it of silk? Have your upgrades provided new resources?”

I shook my head. “Timpy Gnarling traded for a few bolts recently with one of our partners. But don’t worry, the belt took up little since we have an elf of high weaving skill running the tailor’s shop.”

“Never devalue a gift, even if it is of little cost to you.” She paused, then muttered, “Noob.”

I chuckled. “Mind if I analyze you?”

“Trifle not with social conventions with me, Gemini Fowler… but I appreciate the consideration.”

Roshan

Level 36 Druid of the Light

Strength: 6*

Dexterity: 4 *

Intelligence: 59

Wisdom: 36

Constitution: 30

Charisma: 14**

Combat Skills:

Melee: 17

Ranged: 1

Unarmed: 4

Defensive Skills:

Resist Magic: 32

Dodge: 4

Weapon Skills:

Swords: 5

Staves: 87

Scepters: 55

Daggers: 9

Spells:

Flash Heal

Instantly heals 50-79 HP

Cost: 45 Mana

Cooldown: N/A

Flash Heal II

Instantly heals 85-115 HP

Cost: 85 Mana

Inner illumination

Allows the caster to see in dark environments

Mana Cost: 35

Cooldown: N/A

Light Shockwave

A burst of Light energy erupts from the caster, instantly healing party or raid members within a forty-yard perimeter.

Mana Cost: 85

Cooldown: 10 Seconds

Effect: Heals 50 HP plus 5 HP per Intelligence rank

Minor Heal

Heal over time (HOT) spell

Duration: 30 Seconds

Mana Cost: 40

Cooldown: N/A

Heals injuries for 10 to 15 hit points per second for 10 seconds.

Potency dependent on the Intelligence and Light Skill level

Maximum yield: 450 hit points

Minor Heal II

Heal over time (Hot) spell

Duration: 30 seconds

Mana Cost: 80

Cooldown: N/A

Heals injuries for 30 to 45 hit points per second for 10 seconds

Potency dependent on the Intelligence and Light Skill level

Maximum yield: 1350 hit points

Nature’s Grasp

Surround the party in a cocoon of healing for fifteen seconds. Each party member will recover 5% of their overall health per second minus damage inflicted during the cycle, or until their health reaches 100%.

Cost: 125 Mana

Cool Down: 2 minutes

Creeping Vines

Vines creep forth from the druid’s outstretched fingers to grasp an object or enemy.

Cost: 250 Mana

Cool Down: N/A

Nature’s Merge

The druid merges into a natural object to quickly recover mana and health at a rate of 17% per second. Benefit rises to 20% if the natural object is a tree.

Duration: 6 Seconds

Cost: 200 Mana

Cool Down: 15 minutes

Outer Illumination

Projects a ball of light that floats above the caster for 10 Minutes

Mana Costs: 45 Mana

Raise

Affinity Required: Light Magic

Raise a KO’d ally, swiping them from the jaws of death

Mana cost: 100

Cooldown: N/A

Smite

Smite your enemies with an arc of Light magic causing 12-15 damage.

Damage scales with level.

Cost: 65 Mana

Cool Down: N/A

Smite II

Smite your enemies with an arc of Light magic causing 90-125 damage.

Damage scales with level.

Type: Spell

Cost: 145 Mana

Cooldown: N/A

I searched for a message at the bottom of the system’s output but didn’t see it, so I voiced the thought aloud. “You’ve gained a bunch of levels, but I’m not getting an option to spend your attribute points.”

“Because they’ve been spent. Master Mizwel Durring is a trainer. He teaches the first-year students Fundamentals of Magic.”

“Hmm, maybe I should audit that when I level up my lower-level classes.”

“It certainly couldn’t hurt.”

I gathered my party in a semi-circle near the altar. “Okay, so Brumhill is a couple days’ ride to the south. If we—”

A chat box popped up on one side of my screen. I raised my finger then turned from my group.

Clan Chat

<Private>

[Guiles:] Gemini, I wonder if I could trouble you.

G3m1n1: What’s going on?

[Guiles:] Bad tidings at Greycutter Downs. The scouts were spotted, and soldiers we hadn’t seen in the hills swarmed and captured them. They want a ransom.

[G3m1n1:] We don’t negotiate with terrorists.

[Guiles:] I don’t understand.

[G3m1n1:] Never mind. Do you have a plan?

[Guiles:] I can’t spare people. Without Desini and Liatra, you can’t either. But if you’re in Brumhill, we have a contingent of troops protecting the academy. I could send them to the coast to deal with Greycutter.

[G3m1n1:] Troops? What, are they hiding? I haven’t seen them.

[Guiles:] It’s midday. They’re in their daily briefing. The magister had a small barracks constructed on the back side of the main building.

[G3m1n1:] Oh. That makes sense. But I don’t want to leave Warrington unguarded. I’m sure the academy forces could put up a fight, but I’d as soon not put them in that position.

I wheeled back around and scanned my party. Roshan was the lowest level at 36, but I’d seen before, when she’d been in the same position as we entered the Plague Barrens, how quickly she’d caught up. Although we’d been in an instance where certain mechanics had been at play, I’d never noticed an XP penalty where higher levels sucked up the dominant percentage in Enora.

[G3m1n1:] I guess we’re going to Greycutter, after all. The Brumhill invaders haven’t been there long. You have spies in Trowlsby, right?

[Guiles:] Yes.

[G3m1n1:] And they never spotted this lower-level contingent that took Brumhill in the city?

[Guiles:] No sign of them at all. They would’ve notified us.

[G3m1n1:] It actually makes sense. Since we took the wayportals, the king’s soldiers can’t reach Trowlsby. So, these Brumhill fuckers aren’t fresh from Brusaria. They’ve been in the east a while, maybe at an abandoned outpost we don’t know about. Maybe they need supplies. They’re probably sucking up the town’s resources, siphoning Breeder’s armor and gold before they try to push north. They’ll want to hold the town, so they have to establish control. I think it’ll be a while before they move on us.

If we leave your troops here and the academy protectors can reinforce them—even if the Brumhill people move faster than we think—I’m sure they can hold things down.

[Guiles:] Yes, they could hold Warrington for a short time if the men at Brumhill come north. But you wanted to get to Zhara, Shénhuà. No doubt she’ll expect you to rush to her.

[G3m1n1:] Assuming she doesn’t already know about Priya, sure. But Zhara isn’t going anywhere. Did the prisoner at Greycutter give you an idea about headcount?

[Guiles:] His best guess was forty, in all.

[G3m1n1:] Then we’ll just have to get creative. We’ll head to Greycutter. Good luck with your siege.

[Guiles:] My brother and our people will be thrilled you’ve chosen to aid our brethren, Gemini.

[G3m1n1:] I figure I owe it to them. Be safe, Prince Renard.

My team crept closer once they knew I was out of my interface. Although they wore expectant expressions, no one spoke, like they were letting me absorb what’d just happened. Maybe they’d read something on my face.

“The occupiers at Greycutter have captured the elves.”

Emilia’s expression morphed from curious to concerned. “Casualties?”

“None that I know of.”

“Enemy numbers?”

“Forty or so.”

“Levels?”

“I didn’t ask. Since they were members of the renegades who’d taken to pillaging the countryside, and most of the governor’s troops were level forty and below, I assume they’re in our range.”

“Hmm.” She drummed her fingers on one hip. “Logical. And Prince Guiles can’t spare people, I’m guessing.”

“Right. So, if no one objects, we’re going to Greycutter.”

Roshan’s eyes flicked back and forth in the way that showed she read her interface. “By my map, that’s about half a day’s travel.”

I nodded. “That’s about right. Priya, Desini, and I did it on foot and it took a couple days. Aside from a pair of Blackbard’s bandits, we didn’t run into many threats along the way. A bear. Oh, and we hunted a deer herd.”

Roshan leaned on the altar. “What about Brumhill?”

“We think Warrington is safe for now. The elves here can hold the enemy off if they move north from Brumhill ahead of schedule, and hopefully we’ll have returned by then.“ I brought up my own map then zoomed in on the port of Greycutter Downs. If we managed to free the elves and purge the renegades, we could follow the coast down toward the Dark Wood, then cut west across a split I found between two forests. I voiced my ideas. “Maybe when we get to Greycutter, we can check in with Joren Renard to get an update. If they haven’t made their move, we’ll head south along the coast, then cut over to Brumhill.”

Roshan gave one of her patented downward jerks of her head. “These evil men will regret their trespasses. I vote to support our elven allies.”

Mashini flipped a bladed boomerang in one hand. “Agreed.”

I didn’t need to ask Emilia, so I turned my attention to Tsumi then raised an eyebrow since it seemed to be her go-to expression.

She chuckled. “Hey, Shénhuà, I’m easy. This immortality thing changes my whole outlook. I just want to level up and learn a song or two.”

“We can arrange that.”

I shot Pulo a message as we made our way back to the aptly named reception room so he’d have time to gather our mounts. He stood there when the portal opened, then sent them through one at a time. Thunder would’ve proven too big for the doors, but I’d summon him on the edge of town.

The party waited while I stepped through the portal to speak to my foreman. “Any word on the cavalry we encountered out on the plains?”

Pulo’s jaw muscles swelled then relaxed. “It’s the darnedest thing, Gemini. The Second Assassins have scouted the countryside for miles. No sign of them. They sent a pair further south to see if they’d moved toward Trowlsby, but I’ve received no ill tidings.”

“And the scouts are in touch?”

“Like clockwork.”

“Hmm.” I’d considered asking if a couple of the assassins would travel with us to Greycutter, but until we gauged the Trowlsby force’s intentions, I wanted my elven allies at the township to bolster our defenses.

I thought about Desini and Liatra in a fitful moment, how their absence affected our defenses and the party preparing to move into Greycutter without a tank. An overpowering inclination to message them and ask what they were thinking led me to open my interface’s Clan Chat sub tab. But reason won the day. If Desini’d chosen to go without forewarning despite my explanations about why seeking out Priya was a bad idea, her mind was set. Nothing I said would change it, and it was more likely to stir up conflict.

I knew myself well enough to know that. My frustration could lead to my spewing words I’d later regret.

So I resisted and closed out my clan chat.

No sooner had the interface faded than a new window with thick golden framing popped up right in the middle of my field-of-vision, indicating an important message.

You have learned a new skill.

Anomalous NPC Alert (Unique)

NPCs possessing alien code will flash red then be consumed by a subtle aura.

Type: Skill (Passive)

Duration: Permanent

Cost: N/A

The moment I’d read the last word, the message was replaced by another in the same pane.

You have been added to a Clan Chat.

[G3m1n1:] Hey, you there, Katelyn?

[GM (Greta):] Hello G3m1n1! This is Greta. Katelyn is currently away from the office, but she has made me aware of your situation. I see the AI has just processed and released the NPC Alert skill and opened this channel for you. Is your query regarding that?

[G3m1n1:] Nope. Just testing.

[GM (Greta):] Excellent. Test successful. Katelyn asked that I contact her if you required her assistance, any time, day or night. We’ll be monitoring this channel around the clock as we scale up for release, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

[G3m1n1:] Thanks.

[GM (Greta):] You’re welcome.

Although I’d expected a more direct line to Katelyn, I could appreciate why she’d selected a clan chat. If delayed when I spotted one of the alien NPCs, she’d want someone on standby to respond quickly.

Roshan led us to the reception gazebo. We retrieved everyone’s mounts but mine, then headed for the eastern side of town.

18

The life-fueling sun representing the goddess’s dominion over Enora crept from high above to the northwest until it dipped behind rocky hills behind us. When the stars popped into the dark void of simulated space overhead, we stopped at a wide river to water our horses and eat the carefully selected foods suggested by the foundation guide.

Most Efficient Basic Food Types by Race:

Elf:

Plant + Fish

One Meal

Human:

Meat + Plant

Two meals

Mishon:

Meat or Fish + Plant

Two Meals

No one could say I didn’t try to pay attention, especially after my failure to read the sparse Player’s Manual I’d received at level ten led me into piles of shit in the Plague Barrens, not to mention how often I was the object of Guiles’s ridicule for my ignorance of the world surrounding me. Each time I received notice of a new addition to the manual or the Foundation Guide, I made time to read it before I slept again. Maybe that wasn’t saying much since I rarely slept.

Once we’d filled our bellies and saddled up the mounts again, we continued across the river and followed the same general line over grassy hillsides I’d followed once before until we came to the jagged mountains near the coast. There, we tied our mounts together, then continued over the final rise on foot.

If enemy combatants took the elven scouts by surprise by rolling out of those hills undetected, we’d be cautious. Changing our track, we followed a natural trail into the hills instead of going around.

Since Tsumi’d once been a priestess, she enjoyed low level spells like Inner Illumination allowing her, like the rest of my party, to see in the dark. Closer to the coast, purple clouds rolled in from the west to dim the coastal area, so the ability served as a real boon.

When we turned a corner leading into a steep ascent, Emilia hustled ahead then raised one fist. This time, Tsumi stopped with the rest of us. We came to an abrupt halt as she craned her neck and turned one pointed ear to the south. She shimmered in the darkness, then adopted the colors of the area surrounding her.

Emilia uses Camouflage.

When her form transitioned to a blue glow—a mechanic allowing her party members to spot her—she pressed a finger to her lips, pulled her daggers from their sheaths, then crept away.

When I’d met Roshan at the lake where her captors dropped her on its beach, I’d evaded one of them when I curled up against a tree and froze as he passed by. It was then I discovered any player in Enora could learn some variety of stealth skill if they focused in the right way. It’d make for some interesting encounters in other parts of the world, where players would be allowed.

A random blip of my brain suggested I should ask Katelyn if she could let players like me, people who couldn’t live in the outside world anymore, into Rubal. I made a note in my pad as I eased into stealth mode then followed Emilia. The rest of the party remained behind.

About halfway up a rocky rise with no discernible trail to indicate previous foot traffic, she stopped. She must have detected me behind her because she pointed at a gray outcropping to the left.

I tiptoed down the hill in that direction. She continued to the edge of the jutting stone, where she waited. When I reached the opposite side, I discovered an open space beneath the rocks that formed kind of a footbridge. On my belly, I crept across loose bits of stone with care. Despite the assistance of stealth, I didn’t want to push my luck and send rocks rolling down the hill, so my advance was slow.

When I came up on the other side, I spied two shadowy figures crouched and facing one another using two more outcroppings on the opposite side of a foot-worn trail for cover. A quick glance downhill revealed that the path led right toward the port.

I analyzed them.

Unknown Hunter

Level 34

Unknown Ranger

Level 36

As soon as I got to my feet, Emilia’s glowing figure appeared around the corner, daggers in hand, and approached the closest target. Since his back faced her, I knew he was toast before she reached him. Since his companion’s back was turned to me but faced her, I had to time it. And she knew it, because she stopped short, then took a gander in my direction.

Clan Chat

<Private>

[G3m1n1:] Where’s the hunter’s pet?

She shrugged in response. Although my class was designed to use katana and other swords, the lower levels of our targets gave me the advantage—and the level 34 was mine. A six-level gap.

I crept up, slid a dagger out of one of two sheaths on the back of my belt, scanned the area once more in case I spied a wolf, spider, or any other kind of creature that might serve as a hunter’s companion, then nodded.

We launched in perfect sync. My dagger slid into the meaty flesh of the hunter’s lower back parallel with his spine. I whipped my arm around his neck like Guiles taught me, yanked so his back arched, then drove the weapon in to the hilt. When his legs buckled, I yanked him against me, ripped the blade free, then release my grasp just in time to slit his throat and step to the side. He tumbled to the ground.

When I shot a look toward my elven companion, it was apparent Emilia hadn’t followed our elven mentor’s instructions in the least. The hilt of her dagger vibrated in the side of her enemy’s temple. Although he wavered, his brain hadn’t yet told him he was dead.

I’d been in Enora long enough to know what kind of accuracy and power it took to lodge a blade in a skull, and although I’d seen Emilia accomplish feats I only dreamed about performing, she still found a way to impress me.

Her target finally slammed face first into the stony surface.

She shrugged one shoulder. “Guess he didn’t have a pet.”

“Guess not.”

You have defeated a level 34 Hunter.

+432 XP

Emilia has defeated a level 36 Ranger.

+524 XP

We crouched next to the corpses as I sent a message for the rest of the party to follow our trails on the map, careful to describe Emilia’s path so they didn’t have to crawl under the rock bridge.

As I patted down the hunter, I noted something cylindrical inside his vest. Knowing my party’s equipment was upgraded, I didn’t need to be gentle. So I ripped open the vest and searched until I found a narrow opening that might have been designed to keep pickpockets away.

You have found a Potion of Greater Health.

You have found a Potion of Greater Mana.

I tucked the mana potion away for Roshan and tossed the healing potion to Emilia. “For you… as if you’ll ever need it.”

“You never know.” She pocketed it, then rifled through her enemy’s pack. Soon she raised one hand to reveal a thick stem of wood with five branches that ended in little balls which glowed then dimmed.

Fireflow

This wand shoots five streams of fire up to fifteen yards, engulfing an enemy in a sphere of flames covering a two-foot diameter.

Slot: Either hand

Type: Wand

Quality: Very rare

Durability: 92 of 100

+10 Fire Resistance

+ 15 Fire damage

“Wow. That’ll be an awesome backup for ya.” I grinned.

She shook her head. “I have plenty of backup. Might be good for Tsumi.”

A whispering voice rose from behind Emilia. “What about me?”

Emilia tossed her the wand.

Tsumi’s eyes flared when she scanned it. “Wow!”

All our heads jerked around.

She lowered her voice to a near indiscernible whisper. “Oops. Sorry… Wow.”

Roshan eased around the bard and into the narrow pass to gaze down at the pair we’d throttled. “Are there more?”

I had no idea, but the question brought my focus back to our surroundings. “We’ll scout ahead and find out.”

After two hours scouring the countryside, we found the remnants of some bones and other food leavings that revealed there’d been people there recently, but they’d apparently abandoned these posts once they’d taken the elves. The rest of the hillside was barren. We returned to the place where we’d taken out the hunter and ranger, then followed the path to a flat rocky shelf overlooking the valley leading to the port.

It was when we inched forward on our bellies to take in the scene that I realized I stood exactly where Priya had when we fought Blackbard and his fire mage ally. Memories swam.

Priya taking an arrow to the neck and only being saved when she leveled. Desini fighting her first real swarm of enemies and tanking like a champ despite the pain of their assaults. I missed them both.

I pointed a pair of fingers north to indicate two structures atop a flat hill leading down and into a decline near the wharf. “Blackbard used those buildings for supplies last time I was here.”

Near the docks, figures strolled about with the lazy steps of watchmen who’d been at it for too long without any excitement. We’d change that soon enough. The building where I’d encountered Looli Graples’s dress, the one with the disgusting stench I’d never quite managed to erase from my memory, had been burned into a rubble pile.

In the center of the lower landing, a high fire crackled with split logs leaning against each other to form a tall triangle of fuel to feed the flames. A building to its right hadn’t been there last time we visited. It was long and tall, so they’d put some real manpower into constructing it. Another, of similar design but without windows, sat closer to the docks to its east.

I pointed at the first. “I’m thinking barracks.” Then I indicated the second. “No windows. That’s probably where they’re keeping the prisoners.”

Emilia nodded. “Astute observation. It’s probably going to be used for storing wares that come in from trade across the sea. Until the port is opened, it’s the perfect place to put captives.”

Her monotone in describing where her brothers and sisters might be held spoke to the elven woman’s constant state of calm. It didn’t matter whether she was in the throes of combat, she never seemed to lose her cool. Training in New Ninn from the time she was young made her a machine, and it was no wonder the queen accepted her volunteering for my group.

Roshan pointed toward another, smaller building atop the rise I hadn’t noticed. “Will they keep the weapons there? Away from the prisoners?”

“Seems like a good spot for them.” Emilia crawled forward then looked straight down over the drop off. “We should scout it out.”

I pushed up to my knees then crawled backward, away from the overhang. “Good idea. I count forty men milling around down there, and we’re in for a long night. Why don’t you all get some rest? Emilia and I will scout for a couple hours. I want to get a grasp on their patrolling patterns.”

Mashini, Roshan, and Tsumi walked up the trail then found a flat-topped boulder. Once they’d climbed up, they set their packs beneath their heads to snooze. Emilia and I returned to the overhang to watch the defenders.

But when I reached the edge, an alert popped up on my HUD.

You have discovered a resource node:

Type: Port

Name: Greycutter Downs

Population: 44

Current Owner: Mrack Gilby

With a rank 4 foundation, you can capture resource nodes like ports, mines, and quarries. If you capture a node, you may assign the resources to your foundation. Alternatively, you can assign these captured resources to an ally for strategic purposes.

Note: No XP is granted until the node is captured.

Do you wish to mark Greycutter Downs for invasion?

Although the system didn’t indicate that the owner would be notified if I marked the port, my recollections of how the governor’s troops marked my foundation before invading gave me pause because I’d been alerted, and a timer had started. I didn’t know if nodes and towns possessed by NPCs operated in the same way, so I searched my foundation guide. The words I thought to use for search terms netted nil results. So I went to my handy backup.

Clan Chat

<Private>

[G3m1n1:] Yo, Pulo.

[Pulo:] MG. I was just about to write to you. The elves found the cavalry. For whatever reason, they marched northwest, away from the foundation and Trowlsby. How goes your expedition?

[G3m1n1:] As well as can be expected. Can you mark the general location on my map?

[Pulo:] Nay. Not from this distance.

[G3m1n1:] Okay, hold on.

I opened the map then drew a line from the foundation to the northwest. I didn’t spy any towns in the area, but there was one site of interest.

A wayportal. One of my wayportals.

[G3m1n1:] They’re going for our nodes. I’ll reach out on the elven clan chat and inform the elves guarding the third one. Maybe they can send a contingent to protect the eastern portal.

[Pulo:] I see.

[G3m1n1:] Now, I’m wondering, if I discover a resource node and mark it for invasion, will the owner be notified?

[Pulo:] It depends whether you go in force or choose a stealth takedown.

[G3m1n1:] I didn’t see that option!

[Pulo:] If you search your foundation guide for that term, you’ll find it.

[G3m1n1:] Why didn’t Kermatian Pyre select a stealth takedown when he invaded our instance?

[Pulo:] I can only guess, MG. The passes leading into the foundation aren’t ideal for stealth takedowns now that we have spirit towers pulsing to detect hidden beings, but we didn’t have them then. His map would’ve shown the passes because they existed before the foundation was constructed. Perhaps his confidence was his undoing.

[G3m1n1:] Right. Maybe it was because he was a much higher-level warlock. The damage he did wasn’t insignificant, and he almost succeeded.

[Pulo:] A logical conclusion.

[G3m1n1:] Thanks, Pulo.

I consulted Emilia about the elven contingent guarding the wayportal where their people had fallen to Lucera’s treachery. As it turned out, she knew who to reach out to, and they agreed to send scouts to the eastern portal. If the cavalry showed up there, they’d respond.

It was good to have friends.

Make friends, Gemini.

The echo of the ghostly voice from my past got me clenching my jaws. What I’d have given to slit the old woman’s throat, and the throats of all the NPCs she claimed to be connected to.

It turned out that, when the system asked if I wanted to mark the port for invasion, it would’ve asked a follow up question. I returned to that pane to see it for myself.

Do you wish to mark Greycutter Downs for invasion?

I sent an affirmative thought, then a new dialogue popped up.

As you invade this node, it will be placed into Instance Mode to prevent other players from interfering with the invasion.

Instance Mode is activated.

Please choose a takedown option:

1. Standard Takedown:

Send your troops in a full-frontal assault to defeat the defending forces.

Standard Takedown Rewards:

Possession of the resource node

200 gold

12,000 XP

Be aware:

If another player captures another instance of the node while your invasion is ongoing, the instance will be reset, and a four-hour cooldown timer will be instated.

Completion criteria:

You must defeat every enemy defending the node.

2. Stealth Takedown:

You and your partners sneak into the area and defeat the commander. If your takedown is successful, all enemy combatants will be teleported outside the boundary and a four-hour cool down period will begin.

To hold the node, you’ll have to defend it!

Rewards:

Possession of the resource node

2,000 gold

17,500 XP

Be aware:

If another player captures the node while your invasion is ongoing, the instance will be reset, and a four-hour cooldown timer will be instated.

If a guard sounds the alarm during a stealth takedown, the invasion will be switched to a Standard Takedown and the reward pool will be changed.

Completion criteria:

You must capture or kill the protector of this node.

Current protector:

Mrack Gilby

When a node is captured, it is taken out of Instance mode, and the resources collected are assigned to you or an ally of your choosing until someone captures the node from you.

Which kind of invasion would you like to begin?

1. Overwhelming Force

2. Stealth Takedown

Since Emilia and I shared stealth capabilities, and the other members of the party didn’t, the latter seemed perfect. If the levels of the combatants were predominantly lower than ours, we could get the job done quietly. Who knew? Maybe we could capture Greycutter and free the elves before Roshan, Mashini, and Tsumi woke.

I found it interesting the system alerted me about Brumhill being available for capture but hadn’t mentioned Greycutter. It might have been because a sworn enemy held Brumhill, and since I couldn’t think of any other reason, I accepted it and moved on.

For all my vitriol aimed at the previous iteration of the AI after learning how it planned to use Priya for its biddings, I guessed it would’ve granted me a quest to capture Greycutter either before or after I’d chosen to invade. Things were definitely changing, and I got the sense the world was a whole lot less about me.

19

Greycutter Downs boasted four docks with wide berths to accommodate larger sailing vessels. According to the atlas buried deep in my interface, it’d been abandoned long before I entered Enora, which left it ripe for the taking by the likes of pirate-turned-bandit Blackbard, who’d moved in when the Governor of Knall hired him to harass citizens of the southern towns like Warrington and Brumhill when they refused to pay tithes to the regional ruler and regent, in addition to taxes collected on behalf of the king.

Several guards patrolled segments of the area, if one could call sitting on his ass for long stretches of time only to rise every half hour or so to pace the length of the dock and back patrolling. A lane from which the docks were accessed ran along the coast, and two more guards meandered back and forth in opposite directions, stopping occasionally to chatter. A long spear clung tightly to one man’s back, and the other carried a sword whose sheath was so wide, it gave new meaning to broadsword. If these men were renegades who’d fled Millbury Peaks after the governor was hanged, it explained the well-fitted chain-and-leather gear they wore. Although it didn’t seem high-level attire—it often wasn’t when a leader had to account for a whole army’s weapons and armor—it wasn’t crap, either.

The foot-worn lane running north to south turned east on one side of a cabin before a slow incline stretched forty yards to an open area where one of the new, longer buildings now stood. The one without windows was closer to the coast and, although I couldn’t see the ocean side of it to count them all, there were at least seven guards circling the windowless structure, further supporting our theory the prisoners would be held there.

Somehow, the elves inside had been cut off from clan chat. Emilia posited that some kinds of runes must have been set around the interior. I never imagined a chat system so ingrained into a world that it could be affected by magic, but only a dolt would’ve been surprised after spending that long in Enora.

Another pair of troops followed the path to where it turned south, away from the building, to follow a much steeper hill leading to the two shacks above. Last time I’d come to Greycutter, I’d backstabbed two men, each snoozing beside one of those shacks. Then, the structures had been dilapidated with visible gaps in its loose boards. Now they were in a much better state of repair, indicating Mrack Gilby, the owner of the docks, had plans to settle in.

Unfortunately for him, I had other plans.

The guard who’d climbed the hill passed the parallel shacks on their left, then split up, with one turning right toward the low cliffs overlooking the beach, and the other following a trail to pass the ends of the low structures.

And there’s my spot.

When another pair of guards circled the windowless building near the docks, I pointed. “I’ve seen that pair three times now. So, I count fifteen in all. If my interface is telling the truth—and I don’t know why it would lie— that leaves twenty-nine unaccounted for.”

Emilia pointed at the row house lined with windows. “They’re in there. Nowhere else they could be. We’ve got the high ground and spotted no one up here.”

“Agreed. Luckily, we don’t have to take all the guards out. If we find Gilby and smoke his ass, we should win the day. But if we’re spotted and one of the guards sounds the alarm, we start over.”

“Even if one of us falls?”

I shook my head. “I highly doubt it. We’ll probably return to Warrington.”

“Why Warrington?”

“Because I bound myself to Roshan’s chapel.”

“Ah. That was wise. I’m still bound to the foundation, so if we can get Roshan to level forty, she can port us to the chapel to pick up Charney, then back home.”

I chuckled. “If you haven’t learned by now that the goddess laughs at our plans, I’m not sure what to do with you.”

“Fair enough.” She set a hand on my back as we lay prone. “Ready to cause trouble?”

I grinned. “Itching to.”

We split up. Emilia climbed down from the rocks on the southeastern face along the coastline, and I followed the path back in the direction from which my party had come. My route was longer, but choosing the stealth option rendered that unimportant. We each had our roles.

Since the guards had been out of range, we’d have to analyze the figures milling about and patrolling Greycutter to learn if Mrack Gilby was one of them. Somehow, I doubted it. The small cabin that’d been erected near the burn pile of the stench-creating structure I’d experienced during my last visit was prime space for a leader’s privacy. One thing that remained true in Enora as well as on Earth was that leaders separated themselves from the troops to maintain discipline… or an outright sense of superiority.

Emilia’s approach path would take her closer to that cabin, so we decided she’d try to peek in one of the windows to see if my guess was right. It was the lone building with a side no one patrolled, so it practically invited her. But since we didn’t want to take any chances that might cause her to be spotted and leave us starting over again, I’d assigned myself the more violent role.

After all, I liked to think I’d matured. Gone through changes vital to my success. But when it came right down to it, I was still an XP whore.

When I rounded the foot of the rocky hills, the air around my body pulsed with azure energy to signal I’d entered an instanced area. Although I had to move slower in stealth because I was a Shogun and didn’t enjoy the boosts to invisibility that shadow-stepper classes did, there was no hurry. No timer ticking down to peak my anxiety.

When I reached the first cabin, I peeked around the corner to ensure the coast was clear before sliding between the pair of buildings. I crept to the corner of the opposite building to sneak a look at the edge of the hill leading down to where Emilia would arrive but couldn’t see the lower area over the crest.

My heart lurched when the two guards appeared. After sliding back around the corner, I pressed my back to the outer bulkhead. Then the realization hit me.

You’re in stealth, fart knocker.

With a shallow sigh that slowed my racing pulse, I peeked again to gauge strengths.

Unknown Spearman

Level 39

Unknown Blade Master

Level 41

My forehead wrinkled as I pulled back from the corner, then plopped down on my backside.

Clan Chat

[G3m1n1:] Emilia, what levels are you seeing down there?

[Emilia:] Wide range. Thirty-four to Forty-two.

[G3m1n1:] Higher top end than I expected, somehow.

[Emilia:] Well, I don’t know what your expectations are based upon, love. But this is the hand we’ve been dealt. The mediocre gear coupled with the element of surprise should mitigate any disadvantages if we engage higher levels.

[G3m1n1:] Luckily, you don’t need to engage anyone.

[Emilia:] Speaking of which, I’m on the corner of the outcropping where the trail meets the first dock. I can see the rise where you are, but not quite over it. Despite my limited view, I am certain if you move too late, the guards’ upper bodies will be in view of the patrolling ones down here. You’ll want to do your business on the opposite side of those buildings.

[G3m1n1:] Thanks for the heads up. You can probably slide along the rocks to the cabin now.

[Emilia:] Will do, Shénhuà.

I hustled to the other end of the building I’d been leaning against when the guards passed by. If they followed their previous routine, one would turn left and the other toward the cliffs, which meant I should see one walking right by as I lurked in the shadows of the building cast by the twin moons.

A rattling of weaponry against chain armor signaled his arrival before he appeared, and I slid my katanas free. He glanced into the area, stopped, leaned in for a longer gander, then shook his head and followed the trail.

Your Stealth skill has reached rank 25.

Congratulations!

You have reached a milestone:

Gain rank 25 in any non-combat ability.

+7,500 XP

A section of the golden bar at the bottom of my interface flashed, then the liquid inside ticked to the right, representing the increase in experience. With a clear memory of how I’d lost the XP gained in my previous level when Priya—or more accurately, Lucera—struck me down, I sneered.

Maybe I’ll keep it this time.

After a quick look around the corner to ensure the guard’s partner continued toward the cliffs, I pushed off the wall, then fell in behind the guard. If I let him get too far away and the other guard turned, he’d catch me red-handed in the middle of the trail with either a corpse or a fighting adversary and the jig would be up.

The spearman’s weapon still attached to his back gave me an idea when I slid closer. Slipping the blade between the leather strap fastened to the sheath and his body, I cut the weapon loose.

The spearman grunted a confused sound as he turned to assess the problem. When he did, I set the tip of my blade under his chin, then shoved it up and through his brain.

Reminder: XP is not rewarded until the node has been captured.

My heart beat wildly as I whipped the sword free then reached out with both arms to quiet his fall. A quick whip of my head revealed the other guard standing on the low cliff, facing the sea.

Shit, I gotta move!

Arms snug under the corpse’s armpits, I dragged him. “Good god, you’re heavy,” I muttered. Involuntary grunts emitted from my lips as I hauled with all my might until we fell into the shadows of the building furthest from the trail. I dropped him, hurried around the structure, then crossed to the end of the cabin closest to the decline.

“Hey, Rinsy,” a low voice came on a salty breeze wrapping around from the sea. “Where’d you go, ya lazy rag?”

I slipped around the corner next to the trail. When I reached the opposite side, the blade master was peering into the shadows between the two buildings like his compatriot had before him. When he turned his head to continue up the trail, he’d be all of ten steps from discovering the spearman’s violent end.

Shit. He moved too fast.

The guy turned, and I knew I was fried. If I ran, I’d crunch loose stones from the trail and break stealth. The instance would reset, and Emilia would never let me hear the end of it.

Think, man!

Weighing my options in the blink of an eye, it was apparent I had no other choice. My inventory popped up as I crouched to set my swords on the ground. I focused on my bow, then it appeared in my right hand. When I glanced at the arrow, it popped up in my left. I refused the system’s offer to change my class.

I slipped the projectile’s slot into my bowstring, drew it, then pushed a long breath out of my chest like Guiles and Emilia had taught me. Despite the tension in my shoulders, I drew the string, peered down the shaft, then waited.

It wasn’t long until the guard spotted his ally. And more importantly, he turned so I’d be firing at his face instead of the back of a helmet. He was already parting his lips to call out an alarm.

Maybe I wasn’t the marksman my elven bodyguard was, but I’d come a long way. When I released the arrow, it sailed true. So true, in fact, the arrowhead shattered his teeth then split the back of his throat to kill the words before they could reach it.

Nighty-night, mother fucker.

You fire an ice arrow at unknown Blade Dancer.

Critical Hit!

Unknown Blade Dancer

-276 HP

Additional Effect: Frozen

My target’s face crackled as a shale sheen crossed his cheeks, then solidified to form ice. When he fell backward, his arms didn’t flail, his knees didn’t buckle, he just teetered like a statue then banged to the ground.

Bow returned to my inventory and katanas back in my grasp, I hauled ass. Two steps before I reached my target, he shot upright, a glare of disbelief painting his face. He gagged around the arrow, and blood ran in rivers from each corner of his mouth. He grasped the shafts as his eyes crossed to view the instrument of his demise, and the nimrod tugged it.

His mouth widened and, although I didn’t think a voice would rise through a throat full of blood when he screamed in pain, I lunged forward, crossed my swords under his neck, then cut two deep slits across his throat.

“I said, ‘Nighty-night, mother fucker.’”

Reminder: XP is not rewarded until the node has been captured.

“I heard you the first time.”

I dragged the blade master over next to his friend, dumping his body without ceremony. This time, I patted them down to steal shit.

The spear and sword were pretty standard despite their mid-thirties level requirements, rendering them useless for the higher-level defenders at the foundation, but Mulk could melt them down. I sent them to my inventory along with the chain armor. A couple coin purses rendered 11 gold and 14 silver for my stash.

The door on the building furthest from the rest of the development was padlocked. Although I could’ve checked the other structure, the last thing I wanted to do was turn my back to the port and have a wandering footman come over the rise as I dragged bodies inside.

It was time to test some skills. The thieves’ tools rested in the fourth slot inside my bag. Unlike the strange disc lock I’d picked on the map room back in Brusaria, this one was a simple tumbler system. That alone was worth a sigh of relief considering the environment.

Once the tension tool rested inside the cylinder, the quaking of my hand forced me to rest for half a minute, whether I wanted to spare the time or not. A few deep breaths later, I slid the rake tool inside. The window representing the tumblers enlarged and slid to the center of my interface. In mere seconds, I leveled them, then twisted my fist to pop the lock. When it clicked, I tugged it down, then the u-shaped shank slid free.

Your lock picking skill has reached rank 12.

I made a mental note to take Guiles up on his offer to make some practice cylinders intended for ranks ten through twenty. If I’d used a skill twice in three days, it was time to rank it up.

By the time I’d dragged the first corpse up the ramp and into the shack, sweat trickled down my forehead. I eyed the second soldier with dread, then an idea came.

I switched to Boruda stance. When I changed to off-tank, my Dexterity and Strength stats flipped. It proved a great bit of ingenuity as the second, heavier soldier slid right up the ramp without trouble.

Well, not too much trouble.

Once the lock was clicked in place, I crouched and hustled between the two buildings before dropping onto my belly and creeping to the crest of the incline. Down in the area below, in the same spot where Blackbard’s men had maintained a campfire, the much higher bonfire we’d spotted from above crackled and sent orange embers into the night air.

A lone soldier who’d evidently tired of the plate armor he wore had cast it to one side and stood warming his hands. I scanned the path leading down the slow rise toward the processing shack. The closest guards patrolled the road along the coast leading to the docks. Without the patrol I’d taken out, there was no one crossing this guy’s path. But if he noticed they hadn’t returned, he might get curious, don his armor, then trudge up the hill to check it out.

Well, we can’t have that!

I ran a quick analysis.

Unknown Fighter

Level 34

A lowbee. His position in the center of the place might have been logical considering the patrolling guards, but he didn’t even have an advanced combat profession assigned. I almost felt sorry for the bastard.

Crouching as I made my stealthy way in a wide arc around the trail to come up behind him, I decided one sword would do the trick. It was halfway out of my sheath when my target jerked, his head lolled back on his neck, then he tumbled to the ground shoulder-first.

Emilia Horne has killed a level 34 fighter.

I spied the elf standing just behind the building she should’ve been scouting for the leader. She lowered her bow, slung it onto her back, withdrew behind the small shack, then crouched and waved me over.

When I stooped next to her, she shook her head. I took her meaning.

“He’s not there?”

“No. It’s empty. There’s a bed and a work desk with a lamp, so it’s probably the right place. But he isn’t inside. We’ll have to scout.”

“Yeah, but will we?”

“What do you mean?”

I grinned.

20

Half an hour passed without a sound. I wondered whether the owner’s return to his cabin or the changing of the guard would occur first. If the latter, we would have problems. The man feeding the bonfire was stuffed underneath the building in which we sat—because unbound humanoids in Enora didn’t vanish after they died like wildlife did. Although I’d locked the one atop the rise, enemy forces would scour the place for their missing… and for whoever might have killed them.

Then the lock on the door rattled. I pumped my fist in victory, then Emilia and I set our back against the wall on either side of the door. The man who stepped inside was huge. An amber glow surrounded him, leading me to believe he might have been a caster with a protective aura, but a quick check corrected that.

Mrack Gilby

Level 45 Guardian

Another class I hadn’t encountered. Sounded tank-ish, but he didn’t wear armor. Instead, a fine silken shirt covered his broad chest. A silver chain with a medallion bounced on his breastbone as he turned to reach for the doorknob and draw it toward him.

That’s when he spied Emilia. His chest puffed up as if he’d call out, but she shoved her dagger toward his midsection to force him back. I yanked the door closed as the elf leapt like a crouching panther.

Gilby slipped to one side, spun in a reverse circle, then brought his elbow flush against the back of her head. Emilia tripped and plowed into the desk leaning against the opposite wall. It broke in two under her weight.

The guardian grasped the back neckline of her leather vest. I lurched forward, shoved a katana toward his back, then veered to one side as I missed. It was like an unseen force redirected the thrust, but I knew it was a system mechanic. After all, Gilby was five levels higher.

He tossed Emilia across the cabin so she slammed into the footboard of the bed. Her eyes rolled in her head, then closed as her chin dipped.

Gilby wheeled toward me. His eyes shone, an evil grin revealed a set of perfect white teeth I hadn’t expected. He cocked the fingers of both hands toward himself in invitation. “Come along then. What’re ya waiting for?”

I clutched the single katana as I paced to the side, hoping to keep him off balance. “Who the hell are you, anyway?”

“Doesn’t matter who I am. You’ve obviously aligned yourself with those damned nosy elves. We’re going to start executing them at sunrise unless we get paid. Too bad you won’t be around to see it.”

“Oh, in that case, I have just two words for you.”

“Yeah? And what’re those?”

“Tenka Suru.”

Flames ignited the blade of my katana above the hilt then spread to the tip, washing his face in the orange glow.

Gilby took a failing step backward then stumbled, but he managed to stay upright. His face flushed red then he seethed. “I’ll have this place swarming with men in a minute.”

My heart thumped an irregular beat. A clan or party chat would spell our ruination, and I hadn’t even considered how a guard didn’t need to call out.

I lunged, forcing the port owner to dodge again. He slid across the narrow space with a grace I hadn’t expected, then ripped a jagged piece of wood from the broken table to counter. I shifted my weight to parry the incoming strike, then slammed my heel into his knee.

“Gah!” Gilby dropped to the knee, but when I pressed my advantage, he whacked my thigh with the edge of the board, then brought it up, into my jewels.

Lighting struck my midsection, then pain webbed in all directions. He brought the weapon up and into an overhead arc while I was distracted, but I managed to raise the katana again and block the incoming strike.

Face-to-face in our crouched position, we crossed our weapons. A struggle for superiority ensued. Flames from my sword licked the wood, then one caught hold to dance between us. The larger man set his good foot then used his weight against me, driving me back toward the wall at the end of the cabin. His plan worked since I couldn’t seem to spread my knees apart with my nuts lit up.

In a blurry chain of motions, he ducked to one side, slid the plank so my sword went wide, then whipped the makeshift weapon across my face. The thirty-five-hit point loss didn’t reflect the pain lighting up my cheek bone and ear. My back slammed into the wall, and a gasp of breath left my lungs.

Gilby lunged, hoping to cause some real damage as the jagged edge of the plank zipped my way. But I let my hilt drop, then slid my back to the right. My adversary’s lunge brought his chest down on the blade as the plank shattered against the bulkhead behind me. Unable to leverage the strength to drive the sword up with his weight bearing down, I slipped one hand into the front of his shirt, clutched hard, then dragged him toward me, using his weight against him.

The sword dug into the dimple in the center of his chest. I released the weapon, slid to the side just enough to free my arm, then brought an elbow around to clock him on the chin. A hollow crack sounded, and his head dipped limply to one side, but the bastard just didn’t want to die. His head steadied, and when it came back around, he tried to speak. Blood poured forth over his bottom lip.

Unable to shove him off, I slid one hand behind my back, drew free a dagger, then punched him in the side of the neck with the bottom of the hilt. His eyes rolled, his head went limp again. I twisted the dagger around, aimed for his cheekbone, and swung.

He drove my sword deeper as he dropped so the hilt hit the floor, and my dagger went wide. Again, the bastard wouldn’t die. This time, he brought his head around in a tight swing. Bone thunked bone as it slammed into the side of my face. The room spun, twirled, shimmied to and fro.

Gilby shifted, pushed off the wall, then dropped onto his back. The tip of the katana’s blade hit the floor, and the weapon slid halfway out of his chest.

By the time the tilting steadied and I pushed up, the crazy bastard pushed through the door. If I didn’t get upright and finish him, someone would spot him, and it would be game over. When we’d started, there’d been 44 defenders. We’d whittled it down to 41. No way in hell we would be able to take on that many people.

But when I crawled to the door and readied myself to draw my bow, a whistling sound filled the air, then a tracer swung by his head. Gilby stumbled, righted himself, lolled back and forth as one hand reached toward the side of his head, then he fell into the fire. A catlike humanoid rushed into the clearing, scanned all around, then spotted me.

Mashini. Where the hell…?

The way he’d fought, I wasn’t leaving anything to chance. Once I was on my feet, I still had to cling to the doorjamb and wait for the vertigo to pass. Mashini rushed over. Roshan and Tsumi, crouched low, sped in from behind.

The priestess wiggled her fingers. A healing over time spell warmed me against the cold wind blowing in from the coast. Mashini set a hand on my shoulder.

“Are you well, master?

I grunted. “I’d be better if your sister’d been here to tank that asshole.” I cocked my chin toward the burning figure. But it was Tsumi who’d had the wherewithal to grab Gilby’s legs, pull him away from the fire, then reach down for the bladed boomerang before it could burn. She drew her hand back when she tried to touch the weapon then shook it furiously.

Emilia appeared next to me in the doorway and waved the others inside. We gathered.

Roshan wore a wrinkled-up expression, the meaning of which I knew all too well. “Why would you two come here alone against so many?”

“How did you know we were here?”

“Stop answering my questions with questions, Gemini Fowler. How is it you still haven’t learned? Never leave your party behind.”

“We both have stealth. We thought we’d have it done by the time you finished napping.”

“And you didn’t account for how this special assault performed by party members might set off an alert and wake us?”

Actually, I hadn’t accounted for that. “Okay, one point for you.”

She shook her head. “Not a game.”

It was, but I knew better than to correct her. I couldn’t explain it, anyway.

“Well, I’m glad you showed up when you did. If he’d have gotten a message off it would’ve disrupted stealth takedown mode, and we’d have been forced to kill them all.”

She frowned. “Saving your… ass is becoming a habit. I thought when I moved to Warrington—”

“What, immortality isn’t working for you anymore?”

Her jaw unhinged in a lazy loll. “Insufferable to the end, noob.”

I grinned. “Thanks for the heal.”

“You’re welcome.” She eyed the fallen boss. “What’s next?”

I shrugged. “No idea.”

Gilby’s leg twitched violently then stilled, and an announcement filled one pane as it zipped to the middle of my screen.

You have completed a quest!

Just Do It All Again

You journeyed to Greycutter Downs and stopped the renegades from establishing a port.

Rewards: 17,200 XP

+50 Reputation with New Ninn

Current Reputation:

Respected

135/500

Next Rank:

Esteemed

Bonus Objective Available: Capture the port and award its ownership to New Ninn.

Bonus Reward: +200 reputation with New Ninn

Max combatants: 12

Alternative Bonus Objective: Capture the port for Skyyville.

Alternative Bonus Reward: Greycutter Port will be awarded to the Fowler Foundation. You will be able to select what percentage of the spoils flow into your coffers.

A new slew of messages popped up in a side window. I resized both panes so they were viewable.

Mashini has defeated a level 45 Guardian.

Congratulations!

You have captured a resource node!

Greycutter Downs

Once a thriving port bringing goods to Eastern Rubal, Greycutter downs was evacuated during the Great Eastern Beast Uprising.

Takedown Type:

Stealth

Rewards:

2,000 Gold

Possession of the resource node

17,500 XP

Additional XP:

Defeated Enemies:

Level 39 Spearman

3,465 XP

Level 41 Blade Master

4,135 XP

Level 34 Fighter

2,950 XP

Mrack Gilby

Level 45 Guardian

6,500 XP

The sight of my XP bar flashing multiple times in succession with each tick sliding the golden color to the right thrilled me—probably more than it should have. If there was anything in the world I couldn’t stand, it was sitting at the same level for so long, and I hadn’t gained a new one since…

Gods, was it in Seran’s Depths?

I continued reading.

To utilize the resources found in this node, you may open a portal to your home instance.

Portal cost: 500 gold

All enemy combatants have been teleported outside the instance. If you wish to maintain this captured resource, you must defend it!

There will be a four-hour cooldown before Greycutter can be raided.

Do you wish to add Greycutter Downs to Skyyville, or would you like to assign it to an ally?

The answer to that question resided in my Foundation Guide. Although mishon, goblins, and dwarves also thrived on diets including fish, the river rushing through Skyyville more than met our needs. The elves, however, had to labor to climb down the cliffs on the eastern side of New Ninn to fish in the sea. When Queen Simansia gave me an introductory tour what seemed like ages ago, she’d mentioned how their fishers climbed down ladders and used a rope and pulley system to send fish back in huge buckets.

The docks would be the perfect place to fish, and a portal tuned to Simansia’s in New Ninn would mean all the elves had to do was fish and walk right through. I planned to take Brumhill and keep it for myself, and considering what’d happened with Priya, the decision was obvious.

You have gifted Greycutter Downs to your ally:

Queen Simansia Renard.

You must select a representative to hold the node for Simansia Renard, since she isn’t present.

We hiked down to the coastal path, past the first two docks, then up the dirt path leading to the row house devoid of windows. Another padlock hung there, and Tsumi broke it with the pommel of her dagger.

“After all, who needs lock picking skills?” I muttered in a derisive tone.

When the door swung open, I wondered if the elves resided there, but when I stepped up the ramp, I found them on the opposite end, sitting in yogi positions like they meditated.

An elf with long black hair stood first then hustled over. “Master Fowler! Is it you?”

Although she wore the same angular features as Simansia, that’s where the resemblance stopped. Her dark irises could’ve been mistaken for the same black as the glossy hair draping over the fronts of both shoulders.

“Please forgive me. Have we met?”

She shook her head. “Not officially. I’m Naeyvs Riladark. I command this unit for Queen Simansia.”

The others rose and approached but didn’t step past their commander.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Despite red, tired eyes and slumped shoulders, she greeted each member of my party warmly after I introduced them.

“Elves. I thought I might never meet one, even less this many.” Tsumi bowed at Naeyvs. “It’s my honor. Tales of your people pervade the West. If my village knew I’d encountered you, why, they’d blush with envy.”

Naeyvs laughed in a melody. “Well, we’re just elves, but thank you for saying that.” Her attention returned to me. “Tell me, Shénhuà, what’s the status of our captors?” Her gaze flitted around the group. “Are there more of you outside, or did you dispatch them all with five?”

“We performed a stealth takedown. I awarded Greycutter to your queen. Is it proper that I hand you ownership until the elves decide how to handle the new resources?”

“You… gave it to us?”

Although the urge to say, ‘It was the least I could do since my wife killed a bunch of your most powerful people,’ crossed my mind, I didn’t let it anywhere near my lips.

So I went with, “I have quite the supply of fish at the foundation, and we’ll probably never run out. The queen made me aware of the challenges with fishing in New Ninn due to the lack of lakes in the immediate vicinity. We’re allies.” I shrugged. “It made sense.”

“I don’t mean to seem ungrateful, Shénhuà, and I’ll be happy to take this resource in the queen’s name, but this kind of thing hasn’t happened since the Long Ago. Thousands of years.”

Hmm, hadn’t considered that. It’s a player thing. Hence, the instancing.

She continued. “It’s only fair I mention that, if the lore is right, this port would also allow us to open trade routes. Are you certain you won’t benefit by keeping it for yourself?”

“I probably would, but I’m heading south to kick the asses of some of the king’s men, and when I’m finished with them, I’ll own Brumhill. So, you take the port, and we’ll work out mutually beneficial trade contracts later. Yeah?”

She bowed deeply so her flowing obsidian locks hung low. “I hold no doubts the queen will do exactly that. Thank you, Shénhuà.”

I brought up my interface and transferred Greycutter into her stewardship.

Bonus Objective fulfilled.

You have awarded Greycutter Downs to New Ninn.

Current Reputation:

Respected

335/500

Next Rank:

Esteemed

Naeyvs immediately merged our parties so we wouldn’t be booted from the instance, then turned to her management window to allow all allies into Greycutter.

I thanked her, then bowed to match her custom. “Now that we’ve covered ownership, you have about forty people outside the instance who are probably going to come back in four hours.”

“Yes, I see the countdown timer. Don’t worry, Gemini—may I call you—”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. Don’t worry, Gemini. My people will not be caught looking the other way this time. We have more than enough fighters to keep this gift for the queen. I’d be honored if you would stay the night, but I understand if you need to move on to Brumhill.”

I considered the offer, but Brumhill wasn’t the end point of my journey and, although I didn’t look forward to Zhara’s reaction when she learned I’d lost her daughter to a… well, demon, I guess… I owed my mother-in-law in a big way. She’d sent me underground to remove Crohl—Caym’s level eight minion who’d been farming for entropy crystals beneath the Dark Wood. And if it hadn’t been for that quest, I’d never have liberated her daughter.

Even less had a child with her.

Although I doubted whether Zhara really hadn’t known Priya was down there and that her sight didn’t pervade the underground, I knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“If you’ll forgive me, we have more business of a pressing nature in the South, after Brumhill. But if you’d welcome us, we’ll visit on our return trip, should events allow for it.”

She bowed again. “Understood, and of course you’d be welcome. Would you like an escort through the western pass?”

I shook my head. “We’re traveling south, along the coast. There’s a narrow valley between two forests that will take us right to the road leading to Brumhill.”

“Very well. But I’ll send a pair of my people with you to ensure—”

I waved her offer away. “Don’t worry. If a contingent was teleported that direction, we’ll dispatch them or notify you.”

“Very well, Shénhuà.”

We stayed long enough to help the elves find their gear, which was strewn about the cabin I hadn’t entered atop the hill. We exited the instance on the eastern side to retrieve our mounts from their hiding place and caught no sight nor sound of the renegades who’d been evicted from Greycutter. Maybe they’d given up and decided a run at the liberated elves might not work in their favor. If so, they proved wiser than I’d given them credit for.

Once the elves had geared up and prepared to send a couple scouts into the hills and along the eastern path to the plains in search of their enemies, we exited the instance, moving south along the coast.

You have discovered the Mid-eastern Coastline.

+1,475 XP

An unfamiliar message popped up below.

You have left Greycutter Downs.

Clan Chat enabled.

Standard Enora. Wait until after I learn how something works to include it in my notifications. I had the distinct impression all the messages about updates to my player’s manual needed my attention.

21

The waves would’ve been a surfers dream, but I doubted it was an Enoran pastime. Then again, the world was huge. Who knew what its denizens got up to?

Emilia scouted from atop her horse fifty yards ahead, and if it hadn’t been for night vision, we’d have lost sight of her. When she came to a stop, we all halted to see if she’d detected something in the brush-covered dunes to our right. But she dropped from the saddle and onto her duff, then flipped off her shoes and wriggled her toes in the sand.

“There, that’s better.”

After Tsumi dismounted, she used the front of one sandal’s sole to push down the double sling wrapped around the opposite heel, then raised her foot to yank the other one free. The pair strolled into the tide without a word until it reached their shins.

Mashini, Roshan, and I shared smiles, then I called out to the elf. “So much for scouting ahead!”

If she hadn’t been glancing my way, she never would’ve known I’d yelled thanks to the crashing waves fifty feet further out. When she cupped one hand around an ear, I waved her off. I supposed even elven hearing had limits.

I slid off my mount then offered Roshan a hand.

“A chivalrous gentleman to the last, Shénhuà.” She slid down into my arms, then her feet cut swaths in the sand. It was warmer on this side of Greycutter, and the mounts moved toward the water to wet their hooves. The weather often changed when we moved into new regions to maintain game tropes, so the coast was about twenty degrees warmer. But there was no telling how long that would last. The area on my map was small, and my foundation, the Plague Barrens, Trowlsby, and Warrington shared similar weather patterns.

Roshan slipped her arm inside my elbow. “This is not the way you, Desini, and Priya travelled when you came for me in Trowlsby, is it?”

“Nope. We crossed the plains from Warrington and back like we did hours ago.”

“What does your atlas say about the area? Or did you bother checking?”

I smirked. “Have I mentioned how lovely it is to have your snark around again?”

“I noticed you didn’t quite answer the question.” She tugged my arm then thumped her hip into mine. She yanked me toward her when I lost my balance.

“You’re more… playful than I’m used to.”

“Maybe I’m happy to be with you.” She turned her face toward the dunes, hiding whatever expression crossed her features. “But I’ll be less so if you don’t tell me what your atlas said.”

“Nothing. This sliver of coast is called the Mid-Eastern Coastline. Nothing about inhabitants or wildlife.”

“Useless.”

“Tell me about it. It’s not the most comprehensive document I’ve seen. Tends to focus on towns, cities, and notable herding of wildlife.”

“Hmm. Maybe the goddess wants her chosen to find his own way, but I suspect areas you’ve discovered will contain more information.”

About that, the priestess was right. Since the new AI took over, I received fewer convenient quests. The kind that resulted from thoughts I was having. But that could’ve meant two things.

One, that’s how it was designed. And two—the most likely option—the previous AI had been monitoring my thoughts the entire time. Now that Lucera had activated inside Priya, and I’d been her keeper of sorts, I knew why Enora would want to keep tabs on me. But it still pissed me off since it was promised there’d be no mind reading after level ten.

I also recalled too vividly how Zhara enjoyed mind-reading capabilities.

Hmm. The only being I’ve encountered in Enora with that skill. I wonder if all the guardians of the trees feeding the ley lines can do it.

I shrugged.

Roshan yanked me against her then bumped me again. “Someone is having a conversation with himself.”

I yanked and returned a bump. “I’m entitled to my inner thoughts, priestess.”

Roshan righted herself then chuckled. “This is true.” Her head turned, and although I was scanning the coastline ahead, I got the sense she was scanning me, tracing my features or searching for something in my expression. “What will you tell her?”

“Sounds like someone else has an internal dialogue going, too. Do you mean Zhara?” The Lauan woman nodded. “To be honest, I’ve been too busy to think about it.”

“By design, I assume. Keeping yourself busy so thoughts of your absent beloved don’t consume?”

“I think you’ve understood me as well as anyone from the moment I pulled you away from that lake in the Dark Wood.”

“Master Mitwah always said our ability to listen provides more value than our desire to speak.”

“Your teacher was a wise man.”

“Oh, look!” She slid her arm away from mine then jogged toward the dunes. “Do you want to raise your botany skill?”

I jostled both shoulders then knelt next to her. Despite the proximity, I still had to call out over the wind. “Couldn’t hurt. I haven’t devoted much time to it.”

“Well, you have a master botanist at your foundation and your mind has been filled with more pressing matters, not to mention skills that better serve the goddess’s purpose for you.” She pinched a thumb and forefinger around the stem of a thin, brownish plant with narrow leaves popping out of its stalk at intervals. The flower sprouting from the top was tan with tiny purple pedals. “This is bristleweed. Pinch the stem here, then tug like this.”

Roshan jostled her fingers so the flower above shook and a couple dead pedals slipped away in the wind. When the plant loosened at the roots, she tugged then pulled. The whole plant came free, and the low hue of glowing roots drew my focus. I leaned closer.

“What’s with the purple glow?”

Roshan adopted the tone of a teacher. “Although these roots are shallow, you can see here where the bottom of the stem broke off. This part runs deep in the ground and merges with networks of roots that run all the way to the ley lines.” Every tooth shone in the light of my seeing spell as she smiled. “Can you imagine? Such a tiny stem driving so deep?”

I shook my head. “Hard to fathom.”

Bristleweed

Roshan has taught you that this plant’s stem reached deep into the soil to connect with roots leading to the magical ley lines far beneath the Enoran surface.

+ 1 Botany skill.

Your Botany skill has reached rank 11.

Congratulations!

You are now a Botany Apprentice.

Now that your Botany skill has reached rank 11, you can recognize new plants scattered across Enora. Seek them out and learn their properties to increase your skill.

“Yo, I just reached Apprentice rank. Thanks.”

“Wonderful. You bloom before me. Now, reach down and pinch that one.” She gave another plant a gentle tap on its flower.

I pinched the stem, tugged, wiggled, then tugged again.

Roshan shook her head, then grabbed my fingers. “Work it side to side until you feel the tension release. Although the stem reaches deep into the root systems to merge with the ley, these must be pulled out gently.” She raised the one she’d already uprooted then fingered the shorter glowing roots “Otherwise the plant is useless. We wobble it to loosen them, then snap the stem at the bottom when we feel it relax. Now, try again.”

When the plant came free this time, Roshan clapped. More applause rang from behind, and I turned to find the rest of the party circled around us, apparently drawn by their curiosity over why we’d climbed into the dunes.

That and Emilia was my second ass.

Your Botany skill has reached rank 12.

They clapped like they were watching a golf match.

Smart asses.

I picked a few more, and by the time we were finished, I’d reached rank 14. Then the question I should’ve asked earlier finally occurred.

“What are these good for?”

“Low level mana potions, slight magic resistance. Nothing you’d make much use of. When mixed with other plants of higher potency, their properties increase significantly.”

“I’ll stow them just in case. Tira Trilip might have the ingredients to give our new defenders an edge.”

“New defenders?” Roshan set one hand on her hip. “I saw the upgrade notification, but you haven’t told me about it.” She gripped my arm to lead me down the coast, and I was once again taken by the level of affection. Maybe absence did make the heart grow fonder. Or perhaps the priestess pitied me for my apparent loss.

“We summon magic casters to supplement our calvary and ground-based forces. Four damage dealers and a healer so far, and I raised them to level forty.”

“Oh, that sounds promising. Let Hokrahm bring his minions now!”

I laughed. “More like Trowlsby, but I take your meaning. We have guard towers for them to rain down fire and shit, too. The place has expanded.”

“I will come and see when our business is done.”

“I’d love that. Maybe you could stay over for a night or two.”

She nodded but didn’t respond, and as much as I’d have liked to continue our conversation, the timing was off because a new frame materialized in my HUD.

Simansia Renard has invited you to a Clan Chat:

The Queen’s Clan

Would you like to join?

I tapped Roshan’s shoulder. “Simansia, clan chat.”

She nodded as I returned to my interface.

[Simansia:] Shénhuà, what a wonderful gift you’ve bestowed upon me.

[G3m1n1:] Your highness! WTF? You’re on clan chat?

[Simansia:] Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not like they can force me to close it.

[G3m1n1:] They found a way to do it to me.

[Simansia:] Try not to internalize your failures. It was a different situation. They threatened pain against your infant child.

[G3m1n1:] What’s the status of your mission?

[Simansia:] The king’s whore finally came to my cell this morning.

[G3m1n1:] Sema?

[Simansia:] Indeed. My spy’s assessment of her proved accurate, but he underestimated her determination. She threatened to torture me three times during our conversation when I wouldn’t tell her why I came.

A spy within the queen’s human ranks had traveled to the west a couple years earlier then managed to con his way into the king’s outer circle. I hadn’t learned of his existence until the queen told me her plan to directly engage the powers that be on the other side of the continent in hopes she could gauge this Sema woman and maybe convince the king his interests were best served by staying in the west.

[G3m1n1:] Torture, huh? Something tells me you’re getting under Sema’s skin.

[Simansia:] She behaved as if I should want to talk to her. Strikes me as very…

[G3m1n1:] Entitled?

[Simansia:] Yes. That’s it. But all is not lost. Despite her stranglehold on the king’s manhood, I get the impression he lends me a kind of regal courtesy. I believe she’s kept him from seeing me, but I’ve learned much in our single conversation. Sema boasts a high level, and although she tried to mask her attributes, she’s not used to someone like me. Her idea of leadership is to dominate those of lower level and dispatch those who could pose a threat to her. It’s why her soldiers are all closer to your level.

[G3m1n1:] I’ll try not to take offense.

[Simansia:] Nor should you, Shénhuà. You’ve excelled since the goddess sent you here. But there is one thing you should know about Sema before we end our communication.

[G3m1n1:] I wait with bated breath.

[Simansia:] She was the leader of a Ruballian coven of the Shadow Council. She left them behind, and I can only assume the rest refused to render aide in her quest for power. I think it might have been Dracin Welling’s coven.

[G3m1n1:] Contessa of Millbury’s uncle? Shit. Wonder why he never told you. I’ve been looking forward to meeting a real coven, unlike the shits the Währsager sent to my foundation when Caym cleared the blight. Prantu indicated they’d be friendly to our cause, but they’re the proverbial needle in a haystack.

[Simansia:] I’m unfamiliar with the metaphor, but I think I take your meaning. I, too, have had the most difficulty locating any covens, and I suspect many crossed the seas to escape the king’s edicts.

[G3m1n1:] Prantu said some had.

[Simansia:] As for Dracin Welling, he probably had his reasons for keeping this truth about his coven under his cloak. Either way, Sema is not to be trifled with. If we move on her, we will have to come in force. When the little army she conquered then adopted combines with the king’s ranks, Brusaria will be prepared for us.

[G3m1n1:] Then someday, we’ll prepare for it. Do you still have the return stone?

[Simansia:] I do, and I considered using it. Then I reached out to Guiles and heard Brugh was in the city. I want to at least give him the opportunity to break in and rescue me. It would bring him much contentment. Very loyal, that warrior.

[G3m1n1:] Just promise if Sema makes good on her threat to torture you, you’ll use it.

[Simansia:] Don’t trouble yourself, Shénhuà. I have matters in hand.

Simansia has ended the chat.

Simansia has squelched clan chat.

I had the nagging sense that my future promised conflict with this Shadow Council member who’d conquered a community deep in a swamp then took command of their forces.

Bring it on.

22

A wide-mouthed yawn from Mashini prompted me to bring our procession to a halt. Although I’d planned to throw up a makeshift tarp fashioned from thick skins hunted from animals surrounding the foundation and stitched together, Roshan produced a teepee she’d made in Warrington.

Bensin, the proprietor who owned the workspace just down from Roshan’s gem shop on the back street of the town, had once flashed lustful eyes at Priya. My mood darkened as I imagined him checking out Roshan’s physical attributes while she used his space, but I kept my mouth shut.

Roshan could take care of herself.

When the ladies surrounding me snoozed—except for Emilia, who only slept every three days—I scanned my map to plot out our course, reminded myself of the minimalistic information the system provided about Brumhill, then reached out to Pulo.

The other one who literally never sleeps.

There were no updates on the force moving from the plains near our foundation toward the first wayportal Desini and Simansia had captured days before. But that was okay. Something told me I’d hear about it when it happened.

I withdrew a sharpening stone from my bag then set to work filing down the blade edges on my daggers since my katanas were magic-infused and didn’t require maintenance.

You have sharpened your dagger.

Durability +5

Damage + 13

Halfway through my work on the second dagger, an unexpected message appeared.

Clan Chat

[Desini:] Master, are you awake?

A lump formed in my throat as a torrent of emotions ranging from irritation over how she’d broken camp instead of trusting me to the relief she’d finally reached out. I let a few beats pass to collect myself, as if she stood in front of me.

[G3m1n1:] Yes, dear. Are you safe?

[Desini:] Safe is a relative term in these wilds. I checked my map and see you are with my sister and Roshan in the forests down there. I didn’t expect this.

[G3m1n1:] The elves ran into problems in Greycutter. We liberated it and are headed south to Brumhill. Then I plan to meet with Zhara.

[Desini:] I don’t envy you having that conversation with the matron.

Although I could’ve asked her if that was why she’d decided not to accompany me, I knew better, and it would’ve been petty. Desini was the picture of loyalty and, whether I liked her choice or not, her exodus was proof of it. But I mourned in advance what would happen when she discovered how powerless she was in Priya’s case.

Well, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that sometimes we need to learn our lessons for ourselves.

[G3m1n1:] I’m not looking forward to it, either.

[Desini:] We received word that forces are moving toward us, so Liatra and I have joined with a band of elves at the first wayportal in anticipation of their arrival.

[G3m1n1:] That lifts my spirits. Knowing you’re there to help them lightens my mood.

[Desini:] I’m glad, master. We left without telling you because I did not think you would’ve responded well. Still, I was a coward not to face you, and I apologize.

[G3m1n1:] After the short time I’ve known you, the last thing I’d call you is a coward. I understand why you did it, but I don’t think it’s going to turn out like you hoped.

[Desini:] We will see, master. Now I must sleep before this regiment arrives.

[G3m1n1:] Good idea. Keep me in the loop.

Desini: I will, master.

Although the chat left me a bit less encumbered by her decision, I still worried. I guessed that was normal, but that didn’t make it any easier to be away from my tank.

Especially when I would have to assume the role. An idea followed that thought, so I slipped out of the teepee, glanced around, then spied Emilia down the beach.

This time, her elven ears heard me over the crashing waves, and I figured it had something to do with my boots crunching twigs and stones instead of treading through sand. She jogged over.

“Finished reading?”

“No, but we have more pressing matters. Feel like a little combat practice?”

“You mean… against each other?” Her face morphed from curiosity to intrigue. “Are you desirous of a beating?”

“You think I’d be that easy, huh?”

“Maybe.” She grinned then let it slip away and narrowed her eyes. “And maybe not. Is this about tanking in Desini’s absence?”

I nodded.

“Fine. We will duel, but I have conditions.”

“Like what?”

She pressed a finger to my breastbone. “First, you listen.”

“With the experience you’ve had all your life, I’d be a fool not to.”

“Second, you share a listing of your skills before we even start. I don’t know the extents of your combat abilities, since your class is only available to you. I know the goddess only allows you to share certain information about it with us worldly types, but if you can show me the gist of your skills, we can figure it out.”

Cool relief—or maybe it was the cross-breeze channeling between forests on either side—washed over me.

I brought up my character sheet then drilled down on my class skills.

Shogun

Role: DPS

Secondary Role: Off-tank

Available only to players and NPCs born on the eastern continents of Lau, Shang, and Pryne, these warriors wield magic-infused katana with edges that never need to be sharpened. Samurai roles are determined by combat stances.

Samurai Stances

Hashi: DPS

Borudā: Off-tank

Primary Attribute: Dexterity or Strength, dependent on chosen role. Hashi use Dexterity. Borudā use Strength. Samurai primary attributes swap when they change stances.

Attribute Bonuses:

Hashi: +25% resistance to ranged attacks

Borudā: +25% resistance to melee attacks

Secondary Attribute: Constitution

Special Abilities: Heddosuraisu (Head Slice), Yoko Giri (Side Cut), Senpū (Whirlwind), Aisushīrudo (Ice Shield), Honō no ōra (Flame Aura), Nukitsuke (Intimidating stance/Fear effect) + abilities learned from class trainers every five levels.

Ability Pools:

Unlike other classes, Samurai cycle their abilities via four smaller ability pools

Chikyū: When using abilities powered by Earth magic

Kaze: When using abilities powered by Air magic

Kasai: When using abilities powered by Fire Magic

Mizu: When using abilities powered by Water Magic

By using skills in specific orders, Samurai can learn deadly combinations that increase the power of their strikes, heal themselves and allies, or boost party attributes for short periods.

Spirit Ability: Saving Grace

Any attack that would usually render you KO’d will instead heal you for 50% of your total health and remove all poison, curses, or other detrimental effects. Can only occur once every 24 hours.

You will receive a second spirit ability at level 50.

Although the system wouldn’t allow the sharing of the word ‘players,’ it adjusted the verbiage then sent the text to Emilia when I swiped the air in front of me.

“Good.” She plopped down on a fallen tree trunk then read. “Hmm. Okay.” An outsider watching how quickly she scanned the information might have thought the elf was a prodigy. Hell, she had been. “Interesting. It must be a challenge to balance all these resource pools.”

“Guiles became frustrated with me on many occasions.”

“Do you feel like you have a good grasp on them now?”

“I manage but could probably do better. I try to shift my abilities around because the elemental charges are built from different pools, and when I combine them in the right order, they activate offensive and defensive abilities. Although it’s rare, I’ve learned new effects just by mixing them up in different ways.”

“Well, that’s… stupid.”

I flinched. “Why?”

“Because when you’re in combat, you should be drawing from experience, from your training. Not trying to learn new things as an enemy tries to separate your head from your torso. I don’t mean to question Prince Guiles, but we will do better.”

“It’s not on Guiles. We’ve only had so much time to practice. It’s been weeks.”

“Now it makes sense. He probably gives you the basics so you’ll thrive long enough to complete whatever your current mission is.” She clapped her hands to her quads then rose. “I think we have what we need.”

I rose. “Duel time?”

“You weren’t listening.” She thrust one hand toward a thicket of saplings. “First, we learn. Then we apply that knowledge. We start with offense.”

I recalled Desini attacking trees as we travelled north from Brumhill the day after we’d met. Priya casting spells that devastated wooden targets Guiles had constructed in a grassy clearing near a back alley in Brumhill.

Maybe I should’ve spent more time when the foundation slept putting my skills to use against the target dummies outside the barracks.

“Ready?”

I drew both katanas. “Yup.”

“Show me the skill combinations you’ve learned that elicit these effects.”

“Okaaaay…” I lurched toward a sapling, pivoted on my leading foot, whipped in a circle, then straightened my legs so one blade whipped skyward.

You use Senpū (Whirlwind).

+1 Air charge

I reversed my motion then brought the second sword from low to high, slicing the tree again.

You use Heddosuraisu (Head Slice).

+1 Fire Charge

Combination x 1! +50% bonus damage!

My swords flashed bright white light then burst into flames.

Wind (Senpū ) + Fire (Heddosuraisu)

Flame Aura!

I halted there then turned toward her.

“Okay, let’s put out the fires so we don’t burn the forest down.”

That would be a tree-hugging elf’s first consideration.

With a thought, the flames vanished.

Emilia pressed a finger to her lips. “There’s a verbal command that activates the flames, right?”

“Yeah. But the combination adds fifty-percent damage to the second strike.”

“Ah. That’s why the swords flashed before they burst into flames. It makes sense. If you can pull off the move in combat, that’s a good combo effect. But you know what else I like about it? You dipped low”—she bent her knees, then whipped around in a circle that put my execution to shame—“twisted”—she straightened, emulating my upswing—“then attacked.” Emilia clutched her hips. “How might you use that move as a tank?”

I shook my head. “Ineffectively. The bonus doesn’t proc when I’m in Boruda. That’s what makes this class a bitch. Different skills for different fighting stances, except for a couple exceptions.”

“You’re missing my point.”

I huffed a low laugh. “I’m not surprised.”

“Be serious. Come here.” She stepped out of the high weeds near the trees then faced me. When I stood across from her, she unsheathed her daggers. “If I attacked you like so”—one dagger moved in slow motion as she brought it in an arc swinging from left to right toward my temple—“you could dip, pivot in the opposite direction of my attack, then execute a devastating strike that would slice in a straight line up my back and through my shoulder blade. When you execute the cross swing, I’ll be lucky to have a head.”

“Oh. Evasion.”

She nodded with no small amount of enthusiasm. “Exactly. Just as valuable as armor to a tank.”

“But without the procs, I’d do less damage.”

“No.” She knuckled my forehead. “You haven’t been reading your own skill information. There’s no cooldown on your stances.”

Her words reverberated in my mind, and I sensed I was missing something, like it just hadn’t quite processed. To her credit, Emilia waited for me to figure it out. I’d just started wondering if my turmoil about a missing family member from my party was stanching my intellectual flow when the obvious hit me.

“Shit. If I’m in Boruda stance when you attack, I can switch to Hashi and fuck you up!”

Her chin bobbed. “Fucking-A, as you like to say. And not only that, but when you switch stances, your Strength changes back to Dexterity, which means you’ll do more damage and still enjoy the combination bonus damage of fifty percent.” She folded her arms across her torso, then paced in circles around me. “A few problems we need to overcome. First, you haven’t used your tanking stance enough to discover combinations—assuming there are any. You haven’t learned to switch stances effectively, but that’s because you don’t use the off-tank stance with Desini constantly at your side.”

“All true.”

“Show me another skill you have learned.”

Still brain-clouded and wondering if I needed a few points in Intelligence, I brought up the skills tab then located an ability not included in Emilia’s printout of the class information I’d received at level twenty because I’d learned it after.

Inazuma (Lightning)

You swing your sword in a low to high arc on your left to fire a lightning bolt, stunning an enemy of equal or lower level for up to 5 seconds. Diminishing returns of .5 seconds per level higher than your own.

Requirement: Two Air charges + One Water Charge

Works in Boruda or Hashi stances.

I executed the skill.

Emilia nodded once she saw what it did. “That’s one exception, then. It works in both stances. Are you comfortable with the motion, or should we cast lightning at the trees?”

“I’m good. I’ll use it when we duel.”

“I look forward to that. In the meantime, show me something that won’t burn down the forest.”

I twisted my lips to one side, then recalled an opener I sometimes used.

Focused on a thicker tree, I worked my fingers around the hilt wraps on the sword to secure my grip, then executed a spinning backswing. I repeated the motion, but when I came around the second time, I shifted onto my front foot, then stabbed the tips of both blades into the trunk.

You execute Senpū.

+ 1 Air charge

You execute Senpū.

+ 1 Air charge

You execute Aisushīrudo.

+1 Water Charge

A blue aura erupted to form a barrier in the shape of my body.

Air (Senpū) + Air (Senpū) + Water (Aisushīrudo) = Ice Shield!

Emilia gapped. “That’s from your DPS stance?”

I nodded. “It’s called Ice Shield.”

“Duration?”

“It lasts fifteen seconds.”

“Damage mitigation?”

“Thirty-percent of my total health.”

“Cool-down?”

“One minute.”

“So, you can recast every forty-five seconds. That will save you a lot of pain, assuming your enemies don’t cause burst damage exceeding that amount. And we can use a Constitution potion to boost its effect so you can take even more impact without losing the shield.” She pumped a fist. “Nice. Now, change stances before its timer expires.”

I switched to Boruda.

Emilia grinned.

“What?” I asked.

“The shield is still there. If you use Ice Shield then switch stances, your defense goes up. What a great combo.” She paused. “But I need you to do a few more repetitions. This time, ensure your pivot foot is best positioned to maintain balance when you spin. The first turn was adequate, but your balance faltered with the second, and that affected how long it took you to right yourself before you stabbed. If you do it that way in battle against enemies of our level, they’ll just kick your leg so you flop onto your backside. That wouldn’t do.”

“I didn’t realize I was clumsy, but now that you mention it, I don’t suppose it felt smooth, either.”

If I’d known a “few more repetitions” would span half an hour, I might have reserved more energy. Although my Stamina stat was much higher from running regularly with Desini, it still wasn’t capped for my level. When Emilia ordered me to spin five times in a row to nail down my foot positioning and ensure balance, I ran out of breath.

“Time to start running again, Shénhuà.”

We worked on my skills, then Emilia put me to task on implementing different, less comfortable combinations. It was like she’d read my mind and knew that, although I used various combinations and responded adequately to incoming attacks, I tended toward strikes that felt good. Her underlying message was obvious, but she said it aloud.

“Learn every combination you can, practice until they’re second nature, then you’ll be less concerned with what feels right and more likely to perform combinations appropriate for a given situation. If you want to defend the rest of us, this is mandatory.”

“Agreed. Duel time?”

“Ha. No. I’ve noticed something else about your skills, and we need to address it.”

“What’s that?”

“No provocation skill. No way to deter enemy aggression when I put an arrow in one’s back.”

“I guess that’s why it’s an off-tank class.”

She shook her head in several sweeping motions. “Every class works as the goddess designs it. Our Minister of Defense in New Ninn is a City Guardian—a specialized class that only commanders of high rank and level can obtain. Although he’s a tank, he has no provoke skill. Instead, he uses combinations that elicit ethereal, elemental reactions like you. These effects cause enemy animosity.”

“So, instead of dueling, I’m going to execute different combinations in Boruda stance until we nail down some shit that causes enmity.”

“Correct.”

Emilia made notes while I did all the work. By the time the sun threatened the horizon in a green glow, I’d learned three new effects that suited our purpose, and five in all. She swept her notes to me, and I reviewed the motions. Then I brought up my combat log, which thankfully recorded relevant information even when I battled trees. Since I knew which strikes elicited what elemental charges, I narrowed down the language with a few filters so I could focus on the right info.

Earth + Earth + Air + Air =

Rising Stone

Slivers of stone burst from the ground surrounding your enemy causing 175% weapon damage. Damage doubled when dual wielding.

Additional Effect:

Target enmity increased by 100%

Boruda Stance Required

I depleted my resource pools several times during the workout, but eventually learned how to use different combinations drawing from separate pools to keep them balanced. When I used Yoko Giri twice and chopped off 30% of my Chikyū earth pool per strike, I mixed in Senpū twice and pulled 70% out of my Haze air pool. It was all about balancing the resource usage and recovery.

One of the combinations I used in attack stance also created group animosity because it caused damage to multiple enemies.

Air + Air + Air = Typhoon

Blow your enemies into the air in a small typhoon for three seconds, then bring them crashing to the ground for 300% weapon damage per enemy struck.

But there was a caveat. Typhoon wouldn’t proc unless I faced numbers. One on one, it didn’t work, which was why I rarely used it. I’d seen it in action when battling shade witches in Briarton, but I didn’t remember using it since. The ability only processed when I was in Hashi stance. Another instance where I’d have to switch to DPS, execute, then return to Boruda and perform combinations using fire, earth, and water to allow the air resource pool to recover.

When I mentioned it to Emilia, she answered as if she’d expected the query and formulated a response in advance. “This is why we should wait until everyone’s awake, then have you duel the three of us with Roshan on your team. If you can keep Tsumi, Mashini, and me from attacking Roshan, then you’ll pass the trial.”

“Trial?”

“Oh, yes. I’m making many notes as we go. I will make a tank of you yet.”

I stepped forward then clasped her hands. They tensed at first, then she returned the grasp. “Thank you, Emilia. You’re a good friend and a fine teacher.”

To my surprise, her cheeks filled with color, and she pulled away. When she turned toward the tent, she muttered something about how it only benefits her to help me, but I knew better.

A few minutes later, when she’d roused the others, the sun transitioned and cast her blonde-topped silhouette in a fiery glow. Watching as the other three yawned, stretched, and greeted the morning, I once again counted myself the luckiest bastard in Enora.

Despite my challenges.

23

The last thing I needed after the shit storm in the West of the past few days was another downpour, but that’s what we got when we emerged from the channel running between the two forests onto the familiar mud-packed road leading to Brumhill. Last time I’d been there, it rained like hell, too, so I made a mental note to invent the umbrella, hopefully before other players flooded Enora so I’d own the blueprints.

Hashtag gold mine. Hashtag lucrative. I needed to get on that.

At least we rode mounts so we didn’t have to avoid the water-filled pocks scarring the roads. Although my mount’s name was ironic in that the first sound of rumbling in the clouds on high sent him sprinting for the nearest cave, Thunder handled the rain like a champ. I led the procession into the soaked green hills over a rise about half a mile from the road to avoid notice, but half an hour after we’d made the southerly turn toward our first destination, we did exactly the opposite.

Purple bolts of lightning in the distance—lacking thunder, thankfully—drew our attention. Thanks to Emilia’s enhanced elven senses, we had a head’s up before we came to the scene. But as soon as she figured it out, we rode like our lives depended on it to get there.

“That’s an elf!” She kicked her horse. “Yah!”

I thundered off after her—pun intended—then burst past as the driving rain intensified, and I had to blink profusely to keep my eyes clear. Five humanoids surrounded a towering, lean figure with black locks clinging to obsidian armor. A gigantic broadsword’s blade rippled with purple energy every time he swung it. A huge white horse—as white as it could be in the muck, anyway—stood to the distant north. It trotted to one side when we passed it.

When we drew closer, I spied another, lower figure biting at the elf’s heels. A wolf, eerily familiar to one I’d tamed at a river near here. Too bad it had to die.

“Emilia, kill the animal!” I called over one shoulder.

Instead, she whipped her bow off her shoulder, aimed at another target, drew an arrow back until it tested the limits of her bowstring, then launched it. Orange light ignited as soon as it lifted skyward, and I followed the tracer through the rain until it lodged into the shoulder of a figure robed in black. Her bow slid onto her shoulder with a practiced motion, then she reached toward her belt and tugged her one-handed crossbow free.

When Thunder passed the elf, I steered him to one side, then slipped out of the saddle to bring the full force of my weight down on a plate-wearing swordsman. A whistle was followed by an animal yelp, and I knew Emilia’d done the job, after all. I rolled over my adversary, found my footing in the wet soil beneath, then whipped my swords free. An analysis bubble popped up when I faced the dude I’d tackled.

Unknown Warrior

Level 37

“Oh,” I muttered, “Is that all?”

Mashini swept past the circle of fighters, then whipped her boomerang toward the robed caster. It sliced a gash into one side of his face, and the man howled loud enough to be heard over the driving rain. Although I’d only turned my head for a second to watch the curved weapon’s arc, my target had closed and was in the process of bringing his sword around in a wide swing.

Instinct took over as I whipped both my blades, blocked, then twisted toward the warrior to deliver an elbow to his chin.

Your parry skill has reached rank 44.

Counterattack: +5% damage.

Thanks to the introduction of skill trees when we traversed Seran’s Depths to face Underlord Caym and because I’d spent three points in the Slippery Branch, successful parries and dodges froze my opponents for a full second.

That was like a freaking eternity when in combat. My elbow landed flush, then I turned and swung both blades down and into either side of the warrior’s neck before he could react.

Music rang in my ears. I wheeled to find Tsumi’s fingers tapping off rapid notes on her new flute. Buff text popped over my team’s heads, then drifted toward the ominous sky.

Tsumi plays Ballad of the Mongoose.

+5% Attack speed

+2% chance to evade melee attacks

Inches from the toes of my boots, a leather-clad figure dropped to the ground with a splat. Something green glowed in the back of his neck. When I pivoted in search of my next target, I counted five corpses—plus a dead wolf—strewn about the grass.

Emilia approached the tall elf.

I yanked her bolt free from the neck of the one who’d fallen next to me, strode that way, then flipped it to her. “Seems like a waste of a poison bolt, but thanks for the assist.”

“It has plenty of charges, Shénhuà.” She reached for the hand of the elf. “Captain Ryzle. How unexpected to see you.”

Ryzle reached out and grasped her hand. “How Solara blesses me.” He bowed over the arm he’d pulled toward him. “Emilia, I heard you would be coming south.”

I immediately wondered how that news travelled to him.

He straightened, and I realized the elf stood about four inches taller than I. Big dude. He half-bowed. “Shénhuà, I haven’t had the pleasure, but I’d hoped we’d meet.”

I nodded and spoke in huffs due to the excitement. “Your hopes have come to fruition, Captain. The pleasure is mine.” I introduced the team then swept water from my hair to clear the rivers running into my eyes. “If I may ask, what’re you doing out here?”

“I’m the commander of the Warrington forces. Prince Renard asked me to scout ahead, to ensure the contingent in Brumhill weren’t moving this way before you arrived.”

My forehead tensed in confusion. “But Warrington’s at least a day’s ride from here.”

“Aye, it is.” He whistled, then the white steed we’d passed trotted to him. “But Lursinda is a quick girl.” He patted the horse’s neck.”

I twirled a finger at the corpses. “These from Brumhill?”

“Yes, and I have little doubt they’ve called out to their allies. I should probably make haste and return to my post before they regroup and come north.”

“Doesn’t sound like you have a lot of confidence in our mission,” Emilia challenged.

“I assure you, I do. But if they slipped past Prince Triyan to get here, I’d rather leave little to chance. Prince Guiles mentioned your mission and I volunteered, but I’m level fifty, and that exceeds the cap for your raid. The horse nickered when he patted down one side of her massive frame to reach into a saddlebag. “But I came bearing gifts in case we crossed paths.”

He handed Emilia a small pouch.

She took it gently in both hands. As she drew its string and reached inside, I watched with rapt interest. She loosed a vial.

Potion of Greater Invisibility

Requires level 40

The one thing I hadn’t stocked up on when I left the foundation. For once, it would’ve suited me to be more like Charney. The goblin always carried one around in his pocket. Roshan’s level was too low to use them, but the rest of us could.

“That’s very kind of you,” I said. “I’m sure we’ll make use of them.”

“My pleasure, Shénhuà. You should know, when I circled Brumhill, they might have spotted me. But I presume these five were scouting.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Because if they saw me from atop the walls, I’d think they’d send more than a bunch of level thirty-somethings. I find it insulting.” He chuckled.

I joined in. Then I analyzed him.

Captain Ryzle

Level 50 Paladin

At level fifty, he was right to be offended. These people were scouts. Five people—with one who could summon pets—might be a good pursuing group, but with more than a ten-level gap going up against someone with a specialty class, he hadn’t needed our help. He could’ve tanked them for fun well into the afternoon, had he chosen to.

Human players who didn’t understand Enora’s mechanics might’ve complained about us soaking up XP by taking kills, but the elves didn’t often display their egos, except in jest, like this one had moments before.

“I must return to my duties. If they were foolhardy enough to send these after me,” he gestured toward the corpses, “you might do well to shuffle north into yon thicket, then observe what pops up.”

“Thank you for thinning out the population, Captain,” Emilia said with a deep bow. “We’ll take your suggestion under advisement.”

Despite the puffy purple clouds casting shadows across the open grassy fields surrounding Brumhill, it was still daytime. Taking the town would require reconnaissance and, even though Emilia and I enjoyed stealth abilities, Tsumi, Mashini, and Roshan didn’t. It annoyed me.

On my first day in Enora, Lucera—conspirator that she was—reminded me what Nokuro Takemoto presented as Enora’s key feature.

NPCs were every bit as real as any human I’d met outside the game. But I often wondered why that didn’t extend to inside. Why couldn’t NPCs auto-learn stealth like players?

Maybe I was a little too hard core. Perhaps I wanted the challenge that kind of equity presented while others preferred advantages. But when they experienced the Dark Levels and started recreating their characters because they couldn’t reach level ten, those kinds of boons wouldn’t help them.

It was what it was. Roshan, Mashini, and Tsumi couldn’t blend in except by wearing black and painting their faces, so we’d wait until sundown and use the benefit of night’s cover to survey the situation inside the town and hold the invisibility potions in reserve.

In the meantime, we gathered on the opposite side of the thicket the elven commander had pointed out then split up the team into two groups. On one side stood the druid priestess, and I. Tsumi, Emilia, and Mashini would try to attack Roshan, and I’d do what I could to keep their focus on me.

The longer I lived there, the more I forgot it was a game. In a world so genuine, provoking mechanics seemed off. But when I gave it deeper consideration, anyone who wanted to survive would attack the largest threat and, when a six-foot-plus guy swung two katanas toward their throats…

Spheres of orange shone beneath the feet of our opponents. Green light popped up beneath Roshan’s and mine. Since all three enemies were ranged, Emilia decided to keep things fair by taking on the melee role. With her high dodge ability and lifetime of training, I didn’t consider that an advantage.

I chose a messaging setup I’d prepared in my Logging Tab. A pane on my left would indicate any effects I initiated in more detail while enemy effect would appear in short bursts of text indicating buffs and debuffs above their heads. If I wanted to tank, it would serve me to see my own actions in real-time while being wary of opponents’ statistics in a more immediate way.

Tsumi stood thirty yards back and initiated the encounter with a buff. The resulting green text streamed over our competitors’ heads, then floated upward.

+5% dodge

Emilia ripped her daggers free of their sheaths as she charged. Her war cry might have been humorous if I hadn’t known what the elven Paracelsus who’d been trained to join the Second Assassins Brigade was capable of. She brought the daggers around in blurry slices aimed for my face. When parrying proved ineffective, I ducked, dodged, then retreated.

Over her shoulder, a blue arc of light flashed when Mashini spun in a circle to build momentum for a boomerang toss. I dodged another incoming dagger strike as the curved weapon sliced the air and whipped over my shoulder. I spun, landed a lucky kick to one of Emilia’s knees, and while my back was turned, witnessed the boomerang sailing over Roshan’s head when she dove and rolled away.

It returned to its thrower as I bore down on Emilia, who’d stumbled backward when I’d knocked her off balance. Her face twisted into a scowl, then she launched a second time. Mashini readied for another toss. Tsumi shoved her flute into her belt, then she reached for her bow.

Your healer is exposed, my inner voice notified. Get your shit together.

But Emilia spun, dipped, swerved, and struck like a cobra. How would I ever pull off combinations if I couldn’t land a blow? It was time to get real. I’d been chosen to live in Enora because I adapted. Because I achieved. The sooner I acted like it, the better.

I dodge-rolled to one side, returned easily to my feet, then raised my sword in my right hand. A red targeting icon appeared where I focused. I put it as close to the center of my three opponents as possible, then let loose.

Evocation of the Shénhuà!

Call down a mighty hammer from the heavens and blast surrounding enemies with Light Power, stunning them.

Type: Agnostic Spell

Damage: 35-50

Effect: Stun

Duration: 7 Seconds

Cool-down: 30 Seconds

Despite Emilia’s high elven resistances to stun effects, her pursuit came to an abrupt halt, then she teetered from heels to toes. I glanced only briefly at the text floating over each competitor’s head.

Mashini:

Stun

7 Seconds

Tsumi

Stun

7 Seconds

Emilia

Stun

3 Seconds

Since her stun resistance cut the time she’d be disabled, I knew I’d have to take her out first, but if I wanted to learn how to tank, that didn’t mean charging willy nilly into the fray without regard for the other threats. First, I shuffled my feet back and forth.

Nukitsuke

Boruda stance engaged.

+5% Intimidation

Dexterity and Strength attributes switched

Defense Up!

Instead of launching forth, I strode in short, measured strides, cutting the air before me as I bore down.

You use Yoko Giri (Side Cut).

+ 1 Earth charge

Chikyū Pool: - 35%

Chikyū Remaining: 65%

I repeated the effort with my off-hand katana.

You use Yoko Giri (Side Cut).

+ 1 Earth charge

Chikyū Pool: - 35%

Chikyū Remaining: 30%

I lunged forward, planted my front foot, pivoted in a full circle, brought my main blade around then sliced skyward. Then I repeated the action.

You use Whirlwind.

+1 Air charge

Kaze Pool: -35%

Kaze Remaining: 65%

You use Whirlwind.

+1 Air charge

Kaze Pool: -35%

Kaze Remaining: 30%

Emilia’s stun debuff ended, but it was too late. The ground erupted. Six-foot slivers of stone burst up at angles and showered the surrounding area with soil and rocks. Her head whipped backward as one jagged slab stabbed her in the back, shooting her skyward. Her feet swept out from under her, then she crashed hard.

Earth + Earth + Air + Air =

Rising Stone

Bonus: Double damage (dual-wield)

Additional Effect:

Enmity increased by 100%

Recalling our training of earlier that morning, I shuffled my feet a single time.

Hashi stance engaged

Strength and Dexterity attributes switched.

Tsumi and Mashini snapped out of their dazes. Since I’d increased enmity, they turned their attacks my way.

Enmity Table:

Emilia: 100%

Tsumi: 100%

Mashini: 100%

I barely rolled away from a boomerang throw but one of Tsumi’s arrows caught me in the mid-back, barely missing my spine. Although Enora’d decided to institute some pain mitigation for the purpose of duels, the bitch left the muscular and nerve reactions intact. One of my knees buckled, then I dropped to it. Despite the mitigation—which Nokuro and company still hadn’t figured out how to replicate outside of duels without pod technology—the arrow lodged in my anterior stung like a bastard.

But a warm glow enveloped me, then the arrow crept slowly out of my flesh and dropped to the ground.

Roshan casts Health Funnel.

+435 HP

HP remaining: 91%

The golden frame of the pane set to the right side of my HUD flashed red.

Enmity Table:

Emilia: 77%

Tsumi: 87%

Mashini: 84%

Although I still held most of their hatred, Roshan sped around behind Emilia at a distance, putting the elf between her and Tsumi. I guessed that, since the boomerangs approached their targets in wider arcs, she’d rather have taken her chances dodging those than the bard’s arrows, and I couldn’t blame her.

By then, Emilia’d recovered and she crept toward me, eyes determined, daggers clutched in white-knuckled fists.

“Not bad, Shénhuà, but you’ll have to do better.”

My earth and air resource pools were beneath the 35% minimum I’d need to pull off attacks using Mizu and Kasai—or Water and Fire—until they ticked back up.

One problem—from levels twenty to thirty, Samurai abilities trended toward mastery of Air magic. Almost all my initial combinations used it, and although I could learn new abilities every five levels, the system didn’t hand them to me like it did with other classes. Samurai—and later, Shogun—were not only Specialty Classes, but they were also what I thought of as Advanced Specialty classes. This meant I could only learn the new skills through practice, using different combinations.

Sure, it was annoying, but I was convinced the inherent power that came with being a Shogun and its devastating strikes would eventually be worth the effort. On the other hand, my repertoire was limited.

As I pursued Emilia, My Air pool ticked up a notch. A moment, later, it ticked up again. She swung a dagger and I dodged, but it still cut a clean line in one cheek, and hot blood flowed forth. Ignoring the discomfort—albeit dreading what that’d be like outside of a duel—I raised both swords to deflect her next strike.

Slippery activated!

Emilia is frozen for one second.

My main-hand weapon came around into time slice across the side of the elf’s neck. When her eyes registered the return of consciousness, I planted a boot in her hip, then shoved her to the ground. A quick head check revealed an incoming blue glow. I slid to one side, but having my head turned threw my balance off, and the boomerang lodged in my shoulder.

As writhing pulses of pain snaked through the nerves of my neck and arm, I ripped the boomerang free, then dropped it on the ground. “Come and get it, Mashini!”

I knew the mishon would reach for her backup, but it wouldn’t have blades, and that was something. Another incoming heal raised my health from 85-percent to 92. The druid of the Light was doing her part, and I wasn’t the least bit surprised. But my enmity table registered a change each time she healed.

Enmity Table:

Emilia: 71%

Tsumi: 51%

Mashini: 56%

I naturally absorbed the information. While Tsumi’s and Mashini’s enmity toward me would trickle below the 50-percent threshold when Roshan healed again, Emilia’d just taken direct damage by my hand, which kept her hatred up. Abilities that pissed off my opponents would be quick fixes when enemies threatened my party mates but inflicting persistent damage would reduce the degradation of their focus.

The blood spurting from Emilia’s neck escaped her arteries in strong pulses. She struggled to her feet when I drew closer, but when she raised the daggers, my Kaze pool flashed to alert me it’d returned to thirty-five percent. Just enough for a combo that used Air magic.

I lunged, spun low. When Emilia dropped her daggers down to block, I followed through with a violent upward swing that brought both swords around, ultimately slicing through one side of her face. Although the swords passed through instead of cutting her head in half like it would have outside duel mode, the effect was the same.

You use Senpū (Whirlwind).

+1 Air charge

You use Heddosuraisu (Head Slice).

+1 Fire charge

Wind (Senpū ) + Fire (Heddosuraisu) = Flame Aura!

Your sword bursts into flames!

Critical Hit!

Mortal Wound!

You have defeated Emilia Horne in a duel.

To defeat a monster like her was a victory any day, but work remained. I wheeled to face the ranged attackers when the orange glow beneath Emilia’s feet dimmed. “Time to burn, ladies.” My chin turned over one shoulder when I called to Roshan. “Time for some fun.”

Mashini’s mouth dropped open, but Tsumi reached for another arrow without delay while I charged. I switched to Boruda stance. Two steps later, although she aimed an arrow in my direction, Tsumi stumbled to one side as an arc of curved white light slammed into her temple.

Roshan casts Smite II.

Hit!

I howled a war cry, both swords outstretched. Mashini found the wherewithal to launch a boomerang, but I ducked easily. Sweeping low, I brought my swords up to slice through one of Tsumi’s shoulders and her chin with their tips. Letting momentum carry me to my feet, I spun, threw a back kick into her gut, then finished it off with a slice through the back of her neck when she bent with my blow.

You have defeated Tsumi Wilsey in a duel.

When I turned toward Mashini with my glowing, fiery swords extended before me, she dropped the boomerang and bowed her head.

Mashini Sherre has surrendered,

You have defeated Mashini, Tsumi, and Emilia in a duel.

The fire dissipated from my blades, then I sheathed them. I turned in time to find Emilia closing in, the blood from the duel and the open wound having vanished.

“What did you think?” I asked.

Emilia frowned. “You didn’t open with Ice Shield, dimwit.” She waved her team forward. “We repeat until the sun goes down.”

Repeat wasn’t quite the word. Instead of dueling as we had before, Emilia called out attacks and I executed them. It was like she’d already absorbed how my resource pools worked and, although the combinations proved clumsy at first, they became more natural with practice. In the duel setting, any damage I inflicted would be temporary, whereas striking her outside the environment could lead to her death. If that came at my hand, she wouldn’t come back.

Thems were the rules when it came to bound companions.

We also tried some different striking angles, and soon, the combination of Boruda stance and experimentation bore fruit.

You have discovered a new Shogun ability!

Shitamuki No Surasshu

Downward Slash

You slice in a downward trajectory causing 200% weapon damage and increase enmity.

Type: Melee Attack

Damage: 200% weapon damage

50% off-hand weapon damage penalty

Cool-down: 20 seconds

Additional Effect: +5% Enmity

1 Fire charge

Cost: 20% Kasai

While we put that one through its paces over the next few minutes, another announcement arrived.

You have discovered a new Shogun ability!

Kurosusurasshu

Cross Slash

You cross your swords, then draw them away from each other in a violent attack.

Type: Melee Attack

Damage: 250% weapon damage

50% off-hand weapon damage penalty

Cool-down: 20 seconds

Additional Effect: +15% Enmity

1 Air charge

Cost: 20% Kaze

The downward slash might throw an opponent off guard long enough for me to execute a cross slash in what felt like a natural follow-up. I’d seen certain elemental attacks cancel each other out when trying different combinations. Although the former was a fire ability and the latter executed the overused Air element, it never hurt to try.

You use Shitamuki No Surasshu.

+ 1 Fire charge

You use Kurosusurasshu.

+1 Air charge

New combination discovered!

Flame Vortex

The caster is surrounded by whirling flames burning all enemies within ten feet.

Type: Elemental Combination

Damage: 300% main-hand weapon damage per second.

Cooldown: Two minutes

Additional Effect: +50% Enmity

I pumped a victorious fist. “Now we’re talking about creating some hate!”

Mashini chuckled.

Emilia stabbed me in the chest.

I gasped. The breath shot out of my lungs, then shot blood between my lips.

“If you’re going to protect me and the rest of the team, you should probably focus.”

The duel ended, and I eyed her. “You’re pissed because I won the first duel.”

Emilia barked a single laugh. “Ha! Don’t flatter yourself, Shénhuà. I’ve lost plenty of duels.”

But I caught the frown creasing her lips when she turned away to whisper with her team, and it was then I understood.

She’d grown up in New Ninn, learning to fight from an early age. Her natural agility made her the perfect trainee for the assassin’s corps. The persistent challenges such an environment provided would inevitably lead to a natural tendency I was all-too-familiar with.

Competitive blood coursed through Emilia Horne’s veins. In that way, she was just like me.

24

When night fell and we made our way south to Brumhill, my suggestion that Emilia and I do the scouting met reprisals from Roshan.

“Learn you nothing, Gemini Fowler? You left us in Greycutter, and it nearly cost you.” Her finger bounced between the elf and me. “The two of you have become like peas in pods. But you have a party, and five pairs of eyes will see the situation in this wretched town better than two. Simple.”

You have discovered a community node:

Type: Town

Name: Fort Brumhill

Population: 247

Current Owner: Granger the Vile

With a rank 4 foundation, you can capture this town and assign its resources to your foundation. Unlike resource nodes, communities cannot be assigned to allies, and combat XP is granted during the capture attempt.

Do you wish to mark Fort Brumhill for invasion?

I marked it.

If you invade this town, it will be placed into Instance Mode to prevent other players from interfering with the invasion.

Please choose a takedown option:

1. Standard Takedown:

Send your troops in a full-frontal assault to defeat the defending forces.

Standard Takedown Rewards:

Possession of the town and its resources.

8,000 gold

15,000 XP

Be aware:

If another player captures the node in a separate instance while your invasion is ongoing, the instance will be reset, and a four-hour cooldown timer will be instated.

Completion criteria:

You must defeat every enemy defending the node.

2. Stealth Takedown:

Your party sneaks into the area and defeats the commander. If the takedown is successful, all enemy combatants will be teleported outside the boundary and a four-hour cool down period will begin.

To hold the node, you’ll have to defend it!

Rewards:

Possession of the town and its resources

15,000 gold

27,500 XP

Be aware:

If another player captures another instance of the node while your invasion is ongoing, the instance will be reset, and a four-hour cooldown timer will be instated.

If a guard sounds the alarm during a stealth takedown, the invasion will be switched to a Standard Takedown and the reward pool will be changed.

Completion criteria:

You must capture or kill the owner of this node.

When a node is captured, it is taken out of Instance mode, and the resources collected are assigned to your or an ally of your choosing until someone captures the node from you.

Which kind of invasion would you like to begin?

1. Overwhelming Force

2. Stealth Takedown

I decided to hold off on the decision until we scoped out the situation inside the walls.

Unwilling to wait for my response to her complaints about my leaving party members behind, Roshan set her hands between the creases of two of the bricks then climbed up a few feet with an ease and agility for which I’d never have given her credit. Full of surprises was the druid priestess, but when she reached up and vines erupted from her fingertips to creep over the obstacle and hook over the top, I gaped.

“What the hell is that?” I whispered.

Roshan peered down over one shoulder. “Perhaps if you paid more attention, you’d have noticed the skill changes I’ve acquired since joining the academy.”

“I saw it in Warrington. It’s called Creeping Vines, but I thought they were used to choke people out, like Zhara’s spell.”

“You thought incorrectly.” She continued her climb.

Emilia smacked the wall with the palm of one hand. “And what will you do when you reach the top and find a guard patrolling up there? You see those bricks set higher than the others? They’re to keep people from falling off the wall.”

Roshan hesitated. “Oh, I see.” She stopped climbing. “Perhaps you all should go ahead.”

I growled. “We haven’t figured out how to do that yet.”

Roshan gave an exasperated huff. “Boost Emilia. She is the smallest. Let her climb the vines, then she can lower a rope.”

My mouth dropped open as I twisted my head in derision. “And who says she has a—”

Emilia thrust out one hand, flicked her eyes a few times, then a long, thick, coiled rope appeared from her magic satchel. “There we are.” She winked at me.

I smirked. “Don’t suppose you have a grappling hook.”

She performed a barely discernible shrug. “Didn’t know we’d be climbing.”

“And what? You just carry rope around?”

Tsumi leaned her back to the wall then set the sole of one foot against it. “Seems practical to me.”

I would’ve inquired as to who asked her opinion, but she was new to the team and might not have gotten a grasp on my sarcastic humor.

Emilia threw her hands out to the sides. “Well? You going to help me up or are we going to stand here until a patrol comes along?”

I switched to Boruda stance for the added strength, interlocked my fingers, then crouched and held my hand steady so the elf could step into them. When she straightened her back, I gave her a boost, and she reached past Roshan for the vines. Atop the wall moments later, she scanned her surroundings, then turned to hoist Roshan up. I boosted Tsumi since she was lighter than Mashini and, when she reached the top, those three dropped the rope and raised the mishon. They tied the rope to a parapet, then I climbed. Funny they hadn’t done that for the others.

We crawled on our bellies, then spread out to peer through the gaps between the parapets.

A high structure in the center of town rose above all the others. Three stories tall and towering over the single-story structures dotting the rest of Brumhill’s town limits, it stood out like a mother bear among its cubs.

“That wasn’t here before,” I muttered.

Roshan slid in beside me, then wrapped an arm around my waist to squeeze in tighter and share my view. “I didn’t see much of the town because the governor’s soldiers dragged me away with haste, but I would’ve remembered that.”

“I wonder how they got it up so fast.”

“Perhaps Brumhill was building it before they came. But that’s of little consequence. If troops are stationed inside, they’ll have a view through the openings.” She pointed with two fingers pressed tightly together. “And if there are this many on the two sides we can see, there will be more on the others.”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

As we crouched on the northern side, I spotted a couple men in plate armor carrying spears down a set of stone stairs from the parapets of the eastern wall. Emilia scurried over and pointed at them.

I nodded. “Yeah, I see.”

“Changing of the guard.” She thrust her fingers toward two others just before they disappeared from view. They strode down an alley between two shops I knew well. One was the magic items shop Leira operated before she became the interim magister at Warrington Academy. The other was home to the man who’d sold Priya, me, and later Desini, our first real fighting gear in Enora.

Branson Breeder.

I recalled the how Priya once disrobed her top half then turned to bathe the vendor in the glow of the protective ward tattooed onto her back after her memory was erased and Prantu returned her to the Dark Wood.

“Why are you grinning?” Emilia asked.

“Just remembering something.” I pointed toward Breeder’s Arms. “You see that place with the wood plank sticking out of the wall next to the door?”

She nodded.

“That’s Breeder’s shop. If anyone in this town is an ally, it’s going to be him. We’d do well to get to him and ask about the goings on.”

I eyed my party members in turn, wondering who might be the best to approach the shop. Roshan, the eastern beauty would stick out. Emilia, too elven. Tsumi, a dark-skinned woman from the west. Mashini was obvious, with her tail and ears atop her head. But if I walked into town, one guard’s analysis would reveal the name of the most wanted man in Brusaria. In the whole kingdom. Not to mention the title that went beneath my name.

Shénhuà.

Sometimes, it really was a curse.

Emilia cut off my thoughts. “Will the town be instanced? And will he appear if it is?”

“Instancing in the foundation replicates everything and every being, if I remember right.” I wasn’t about to explain how players invaded copies of the instances, just like the dungeon in the Plague Barrens, but Emilia didn’t interrupt to question it. “I don’t see why this would be any different, but I haven’t initiated the invasion, anyway. It won’t turn into an instance until I do.”

A shadowy figure emerged from an alley across the street from the armor shop. He strolled into the center of the dirt road, stopped out front, peered at the door, then dipped his chin and shoved his hands into his pockets as he moved north. It wasn’t until he stepped into the light cast off one of the poles lining the street with glowing receptacles at their tops that I noticed them. But when I spied the portly features and the long, curled mustache, my grin persisted.

“What does this Breeder look like?”

“He looks like that.” Again, I pointed. Two more men dressed in chain and metal helmets stepped out of a side street and crossed paths with the vendor. Although Breeder’s head swiveled when he passed them, they didn’t acknowledge his presence. His chin fell to his chest, and his slumped shoulders reminded me nothing of the Branson Breeder I’d known. “We should get to him before he goes indoors.”

“My camouflage ability is much higher than your stealth. I will go and bring him.” She jerked like she’d run off, but I grabbed her arm.

“Do not kidnap him. Just tell him the Shénhuà has a message, and he’ll follow you right to the wall… assuming the guards we spotted on the way don’t stop him.”

Without another word, Emilia duckwalked in a crouch to where she’d tied off the rope for our ascents, dragged it to the opposite side of the walk, then peered over to ensure the coast was clear before releasing it. Dropping into camouflage mode, she descended. When she reached the bottom, Mashini reeled in the rope.

I returned my focus to Breeder, who’d turned left down a side street—was a dirt path really a street?—at the end of the thoroughfare, then trudged west. He disappeared behind the row of buildings leading to a shady tavern where I’d first encountered Brugh and Guiles.

Emilia sprung away from the wall. She crept down an alley to intercept him.

With both out of my sightline, I gathered the rest of my crew close.

Mashini crouched beside me and spoke in a low whisper. “Will we use stealth again? Like Greycutter?”

My shoulders twitched. “Don’t know yet. That’s why we’re going for Breeder. We need to get the lay of the land.”

The rotund figure who’d disappeared behind the buildings along the side road emerged from the alley into which Emilia’d disappeared moments earlier. The azure lines constructing her form followed, and I realized a kink in my plan.

Why have Breeder struggle to climb to the top of the wall?

When I reached the rope to hoist myself over, a flashing icon in my HUD spread into a pane that zipped to the center of my view.

If you enter Brumhill without selecting an invasion option, you will have to leave the town limits to begin your attack.

Which kind of invasion would you like to begin?

1. Overwhelming Force

2. Stealth Takedown

In the interest of time, I chose the latter. We weren’t equipped for Overwhelming Force, anyway. A wave of subtle purple light washed over the town inside the walls, and I counted myself lucky Breeder still stood below. A reset would’ve sucked.

When I reached the ground, his face bloomed into a wide grin.

“Shénhuà,” he whispered. “I can’t believe it. It’s really you.”

While the rest of the party descended, I waved Breeder to the western end of the row of buildings so we could talk as far from the central structure and the main road as possible. There, I finally returned his smile then clasped both shoulders.

“Breeder, my man.”

He reached around my arms to grasp my shoulders, but with his short stems, he had to settle for a squeeze of my triceps. “How long has it been?”

“About four months, if you can believe it.”

Breeder shook his head. “Is that all? Since Leira and Guiles left town, every day is an eternity.” He cocked his head toward the rear of the building we crouched beside. “And with these no-gooders…” A bushy eyebrow rose. “Did you come to liberate us?” His expression morphed into suspicion. “Surely you don’t have business with the king’s thugs.”

“I’m guessing you haven’t had an easy time of it if you’d even suggest such a thing. My business with the thugs isn’t the kind they’d benefit from, I assure you.”

His stance relaxed. “Oh, thank the goddess.”

The rest of the party arrived. They crowded around us, keeping their heads low.

“Is this your team?” The eyebrow did its thing again. “Your whole team?”

“Why?” I flashed a sideways grin. “Do you think I need more?”

“Where’s Priya?”

“Long story.”

After a long pause, Breeder nodded. “I see. Well, we’ll want to get off the streets. I was on my way to meet with some people when you arrived. I’m certain they’d be pleased to make your acquaintance, considering the circumstances.”

“Cool. I don’t like being out in the open, either. Where to?”

“Where else?”

“The tavern?”

He waved us away from the back of the building, led us to the end of the row, then peeked around a corner. With another quick gesture, he disappeared around the side of the structure. We followed. After a final glance before emerging onto the back road, he sped forward. The place was tucked into the back corner of an alley to the right.

We came to a heavy wooden door. Branson knocked out a strange rhythm with two pauses. The slot in the door slid to one side, and a moment of nostalgia washed over me when a pair of glowing yellow eyes scanned us. Breeder passed over a token, the slot closed with a click, then the door slid open. The hinges must have been well-oiled because the motion was silent.

We stepped into the familiar dim room. Unlike last time when I’d arrived with Priya, the bar was vacated. I spied not a single barrel of ale through the opening leading to the back where they’d been before. Instead of taking us to the small room where I’d met Brugh, Branson followed a hallway to the backside of the tavern. He opened a door at the opposite end. We filed inside to find a man and a woman seated at a long table with pewter goblets resting before them. A dormant fireplace sat at the opposite end of the long room. A third goblet sat at the head of the table closest to us despite the absence of someone to drink from it.

The two rose, and the woman brushed long, straight locks of crimson hair over one shoulder. “Branson, what is this?” She wore a wrinkled expression of disbelief. “Who are these people?”

The man across the table from her glanced at my party one at a time in a gesture that took about three seconds.

Branson swept his arm through the air. “Margie, meet Gemini Fowler, whose reputation proceeds him.”

The wrinkles flattened, and her eyes flared wide. She pressed a hand of splayed fingers to her chest. “Blessed day! Shénhuà, have you come to our aid?” She dropped the hand, and bumps formed in the sides of her face as she ground her teeth. She dropped her gaze to the table. “Forgive me, Gemini. It’s just—”

I waved her concerns away. “We’re here to do exactly that.”

“Oh, blessed day, indeed.” The gray pallor in face flooded with peach. She gestured at the man across the table. “This is Hornstadt Remming, my cousin. He came from Trowlsby a week ago when word of a coming siege reached his shop.”

I bowed out of habit. “Nice to meet you both. What do you do?”

Hornstadt answered in a naturally low, grumbling voice. “I’m a trade advisor. I used to serve the high council, but they’ve chomped off more than they can digest, I think. Actually…” His mouth twisted to one side to reveal a row of teeth. “You’re part of the reason I’m here, Shénhuà.”

“How’s that?”

“Suffice it to say, I have friends in Warrington. One from childhood with whom I believe you’re familiar, and my sister was born with a mana pool.”

“Who’s your friend?”

“Probert Mulk. I understand you were instrumental in curing his niece’s ailment.”

“Heh. Small world. Probert is my blacksmith.”

His forehead wrinkled up. “Is he? Why, isn’t that grand? I wasn’t sure he was still alive!”

“He’s not only alive, but he’s a master smith now. The man made half the gear you’re looking at.”

“Glorious!”

Breeder interjected. “I believe there are enough chairs. Please, everyone sit.” But the vendor I’d met months before remained standing, circling the table to position himself in front of the cold fireplace.

Considering the constant chill on the air, I figured a fire would’ve been awesome, but I also understood how they might not want smoke rising from the chimney considering the occupation going on in town.

Breeder leaned to set his hands on the table. “Where’s Yogranda?”

No sooner had he spoken the words than a line of bright white light split the air in the back corner of the room, then spread into a lilac glow to form a portal. All five of my party members lurched from their seats, weapons were drawn, and they turned to face the magic construct.

Breeder shot up, waving his hands across each other. “No, no! It’s fine. We invited her. That’s Yogranda.”

A short, stout figure with green hair pulled up into a sloppy bun emerged from the portal.

“A dwarf?” I muttered.

The short, muscular woman shot me a sideways look. “Ye have a problem with dwarves?”

“Just the opposite.” I decided to pour it on thick. “The foreman who runs my township is a dwarf from Solara’s own kingdom.” A memory led me to search my logs. “And I aided a dwarf in the Plague Barrens a couple months back. Whim Hammerbeard?”

“Oh! Are you…”

Branson nodded and swept his hand my way. “This is Gemini Fowler. The returned of Solara, in the flesh.”

Behind the dwarf, a head popped through the portal, looked around, nodded, then disappeared again.

Unlike the other two, the dwarf rushed over to offer me her hand. When I reached for it, she slipped past my palm and gripped my wrist then shook with fury. “Oh, Whim told us all about the giant scorpion. A sad day, losing his brother and all, but… well, I’m so pleased to meet ye.”

“Likewise.” I introduced the rest of my team.

Branson gestured toward an empty chair for Yogranda, then we all sat. “Shénhuà, if you’ll allow me the honor.” He didn’t pause for approval. “We’ve been meeting here the last three nights, trying to figure out how to smuggle the people of Brumhill out of the town.”

Tsumi straightened her chair. “Did someone say smuggle?”

I waved a hand. “Easy there, Han Solo. We’re not here to smuggle. We’re here to liberate.”

“You are?” Yogranda asked.

“We are. We plan to add Brumhill to our… I don’t even know what to call it.”

Emilia chimed in. “Try family. It sounds better than kingdom, especially considering the circumstances.”

Breeder’s head tilted. “Add it? To your… family?”

My first instinct was to make shit up and smooth the waters, but I decided the truth was just as good. “We plan to make Brumhill a sister community of my township. We’ll share resources, open trade relations, the whole nine yards.”

Hornstadt Remming continued the trend of speaking in confused tones. “Nine yards?”

“It’s just an expression. Anyway, I think you’d enjoy partnering with us a lot more than with the king. Besides, then you don’t have to smuggle”— I shot Tsumi a look—“anyone out of town.”

Breeder leaned forward onto the table again. “Sounds to me like this old horn toad town might be better off than before the garrison was formed.”

Yogranda leaned back in her chair and drummed her fingers on the table, staring distantly over our heads.

“What’s the dwarves’ part in all this?” I asked.

“What?” She snapped out of her daze. “Right! You haven’t heard. Shouldn’t be surprising, considering no one can get off the mountain. You see, the king’s men surrounded our stronghold ten days ago. Although his father was wise enough to know we’d never agree to pay his taxes, it seems the son has gotten his hackles up. The boy doesn’t understand the Blackstone Mountains are ours, have always been ours, and will always be ours. So, he sent a force to lay siege, as if we couldn’t survive inside our own mountain for ages.”

“Shit.”

Emilia leaned in. “What’s up?”

I shook my head. “The king didn’t get his hackles up. Sema got his hackles up.”

“Sema?” Breeder asked.

I nodded. “She used to be in a coven of the Shadow Council. They’re a bunch of magic users—”

Breeder raised a finger. “Shénhuà, we all know of the Shadow Council.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize they were so widely… anyway. Sema is boning the king. We suspect she’s trying to garner power.”

“Boning?” Breeder asked.

The dwarven woman raised one fist then pumped it outward a few times like the head of a striking snake. “Boning.” When the vendor’s expression wrinkled even further, the dwarf rolled her eyes. Her cheek inflated when she punched her tongue into it. “Boning, Breeder. She’s fucking him.”

“Oh!” Breeder’s cheeks turned the color of beets. “I see.”

I scanned the faces of the people around the table and, when my gaze landed on Emilia, a contemptuous glare met me.

“Someone forgot to fill me in. You spoke with the queen?”

“I only talked to Simansia for a moment. Sorry it didn’t come up.”

She drummed her fingers on the table and ran her tongue across her top row of teeth. “I duel with you all night and half of today so you can discover new skills and we can fight more aptly, and it doesn’t come up. Mm-hmm. I see.”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“Are you sure? What if you get distracted?”

I fumed on the inside but shared a smile with the rest of the group before addressing the dwarf. “Anyway, I think Sema’s trying to inflate the kingdom’s coffers. Maybe to fund the war.”

“That adds up,” Yogranda replied. “But we suspect the king’s troops want something else we have.”

“That is?” I asked.

“Access to our wayportal. It’s tucked deep inside Blackstone.”

I cringed on the inside. “That might be my fault.”

“Why is that?”

“We captured his other wayportals.”

My expectation that Yogranda would sigh or cast me a derisive look didn’t pan out. Instead, the dwarven woman slapped the table and barked laughter. “Well, that would explain it! I didn’t even know Luttrell had wayportals reaching to the east.”

“They were new. I think they started construction after I…” I paused, realizing I was about to further implicate myself in her difficulties.

The dwarf proved intuitive when she cocked an eyebrow then tapped her fingers on the table while casting a wary gaze my way. “Yes?”

“I think they started construction after I defeated Underlord Caym. With that threat removed from the east, Luttrell likely saw an opportunity to bring the kingdom to bear.”

Emilia wagged her head side to side. “Especially since you had his regent hanged.”

The dwarf laughed again. “You sure do leave a swath behind you, Fowler.”

I grinned and gave an exaggerated shrug.

She chuckled. “Glad you’re on our side.”

Margie Greenhill cleared her throat. “This is all very enlightening, but perhaps we should focus on Brumhill before solving the rest of the kingdom’s problems.” She flashed Yogranda an apologetic look.

“Well, if you take Brumhill, it’ll be a lot easier to move people through that portal.”

“Why move them through the portal?” I asked.

“Because we heard about the coming siege on Trowlsby. If the elves would welcome us”—her eyes flitted to Emilia but didn’t linger—“then we plan to help. The king’s troops will rue the day they came East. My king has decided the dwarves have been isolated for too long. While we traded with Trowlsby, Warrington, and several townships like this one, we never really sent delegations. Now, it’s come back to bite us. If we had allies…”

I slid my palms onto the table, leaning in her direction. “As of now, you have allies. Emilia, do you think the elves would welcome the dwarves to their siege?”

She nodded. “They’re stretched too thin as it is. They can barely cover all sides of the city. Seems mutually beneficial. Would you like me to reach out to one of the princes?”

I raised a finger. “Let’s take Brumhill first.” Which brought a curiosity. “Yogranda?”

“Hmm?”

“If you planned on bringing troops through the portal, why didn’t you just take Brumhill?”

“Well, it hasn’t been that long, Shénhuà. Give us a few seconds.”

“Are we stepping on your toes?”

Breeder stood straight. “No. Nononono. The people of Brumhill would benefit greatly by new trade relations, and the dwarves didn’t plan on staying. So, if you’re going to claim the town for the goddess, I’m sure everyone’s in agreement that’s the best scenario. If you’re successful, then the dwarves can open their portal in the middle of town and file right out the northern gate. Do you see what I see, Gemini?”

I grinned. “I do. I see us uniting the east against a monarch who so richly deserves all the opposition we can muster. Now, all we need is a plan.”

Hornstadt Remming had thoughts. “Make sure it includes dealing with the Three.”

“The Three?”

“Yes. While you’ll likely succeed in disposing of the small contingent of guards patrolling our town, the Three keep our citizens from delusions of heroism. They’re stationed in the former mayor’s house at the center of town, where the high walk and small parapets magically appeared.”

Appeared? Did the king’s troops run the place like a foundation? Could they spend gold on upgrades?

I shook the thought away. It didn’t matter in the grand scheme because I planned to take Brumhill before the sun rose. Zhara waited, and I wasn’t shitting around.

25

A single guard marched up the side alley where Emilia had intercepted Breeder an hour earlier. Adorned in full plate, I wondered if the garrison boasted a bunch of gung-ho types or if they expected resistance. Since Brumhill was tucked into the southeastern corner of Rubal with only the Dark Wood buffering it from the coast, I suspected the former.

Now that I’d scouted a bit more and hadn’t spotted any enemies over level forty, my curiosity about the strategic value of an isolated town swelled. Our theory that this group planned to head for Warrington after the elves had already repelled an attack by higher levels from the academy grounds wasn’t holding water. It would’ve been one thing if the wayportals we’d captured still belonged to the monarchy, but without those nodes, Guiles didn’t believe the king’s forces could get close enough to Brumhill to open a portal.

The Blackstone Mountains were wide and reached from the coast halfway up the continent, and although Luttrell’s army conducted a weak siege at the dwarven stronghold, they’d moved no further east or south. While Yogranda believed the siege of the mountain might have been aimed at taking the dwarven wayportal, bringing troops through it, then marching them into the eastern territory from there, I had to wonder about the logic of such a plan. If the wayportal was deep in the mountain, and if wayportals had to be tuned to one another and couldn’t be aimed at any open piece of ground like a spell portal, wouldn’t it be easier to march troops east, set up outposts along the way, and build new portals?

Yogranda explained that higher ranked wayportals could be aimed just about anywhere within their range with enough high-level mages boasting the prerequisites to tune them.

I didn’t pretend to understand Luttrell’s—or Sema’s—calculations. But if I was right and they’d been misguided enough to gather troops outside what Yogranda described as a pair of three-story iron doors in hopes the dwarves would bend the knee—after years of refusing to pay taxes, at that—maybe strategy wasn’t our enemy’s strong suit.

Then I remembered how Sema had gotten to the king.

The guard turned right to disappear around the corner. A few beats later, another pair appeared from that direction, having crossed paths with the first, moving the opposite way.

Toward me.

I reviewed the quest information while I waited.

Liberation

Your sworn enemy has captured a town in Eastern Rubal.

Objectives:

Capture Brumhill in the name of Skyyville.

Defeat All Defenders.

Name a mayor.

Assign a foreman.

Rewards:

25,000 XP

2,000 gold coins

One full level at the time of completion of all objectives, in addition to any earned XP.

Limitations:

Party size: 5

Level cap: 45

Note: You can recruit rebels from inside a community in your efforts to capture it.

The final line got my attention. Breeder crouched in the shadows behind me. After the patrol turned the corner to move to our right, I used the gap between their exodus and the next one’s arrival for a brief whispered conversation.

“Do you have any able bodies in town who can suit up?”

He nodded. “A pair of twins who run the butcher’s shop over the southern corner of town next door to Mags’s eatery. They hunt all the game they carve. Good with bows.”

“Any melee fighters?”

“Hmm.” He tapped one bent knee. “The Filson girl. She lives just up the row, here. Over six feet tall, broad shoulders. She’ll stand out, though.”

“Yeah, but who won’t? Besides, our plan is to take the place quietly.”

“Oh, then you’ll want to watch the bells.”

I’d started to return my gaze to the road, counting off the seconds until the solo guard in full plate returned, but when my brain absorbed Breeder’s last bit, I did a double take. “Bells? What bells?”

“They posted them on each corner.” He thrust a stubby finger over my shoulder.” I activated Inner Illumination then peered in the direction he’d indicated. A metal hook screwed into the facade of a single-story building, and as I squinted unnecessarily, I spied the large dome-topped item that could wreck the whole plan.

“Every corner, you say?”

“Aye, and I have more bad news.”

“What’s that?”

“They commandeered my shop when they moved into town.” He thrust his finger again, and when I followed its line, I spied the solo guard pacing down the side street toward us. “How do you think a level thirty-five got all that nice plate to wear?”

I recalled how Breeder had eyed his shop then dipped his chin earlier when we first spotted him from atop the wall.

Dejection.

“So, you’re saying we can’t outfit any rebels we recruit because someone else is manning your shop. Using your gear and weapons for these troops.”

He confirmed with a nod. “And they’ve secured it. There’s someone behind my counter around the clock. Any other ideas?”

“I don’t need other ideas.”

It was his turn to do a double take. “Why’s that?”

Emilia appeared from behind us, scurrying over to dip down in whispering range. “There are two more who patrol the southern street its full length, turn, then repeat.”

I tipped my chin toward Emilia before answering Breeder. “She’s why.”

Emilia passed a glance between us. “I’m why, what?”

“You’re why I don’t need other ideas. I need you to go with Breeder.”

“Oh?” She leaned into the vendor then set a hand on his shoulder, speaking in a sultry tone I’d have never expected. “And where are you taking me, Mister Breeder?”

Thanks to my seeing spell, I enjoyed the sight of that beet color filling his rotund cheeks again. The elf was changing. I answered in his stead.

“He needs you to exterminate a pest in his shop.”

“Oh. And where are you going?”

“Back onto the wall. I want to get a look at those small parapets around the central building, then walk the wall to see if there are any hidden bells up there.”

“Oh, right. I was going to mention those.”

Because of course Emilia had noticed the bells.

“Must have slipped my mind. I guess I got distracted.”

“Are you ever going to let that go?”

“Probably not. What are you going to do about the guards on the wall?”

“I’m going to kill them.”

“Won’t their absences be noticed?”

“Not if we move our asses.”

“What if I want to take the wall?”

I shrugged. “Then I’ll get a lock-picking skill-up breaking into Breeder’s place.” I turned. “Unless you have a key.”

Breeder shook his head. “They took them.”

Emilia tapped Breeder’s shoulder. “Is there a back door?” When he nodded, she pointed at the door to the tavern. “Just wait with the others. Gemini pointed it out earlier. I’ll go in the back.” She smirked my way. “My lock-picking skill is higher, anyway. Can’t have you fiddling around and drawing attention if we want to pull this off.”

“I love you, too.”

Emilia grinned, and a wave of relief washed over me. Despite her irritation that I hadn’t mentioned the update from Simansia, the elf probably figured out that, if her queen wanted to update her, she might have done it herself. Sure, she’d included her on the plan to infiltrate Brusaria just far enough to learn more about this new threat, this Sema, but that didn’t mean she’d promised to keep her apprised.

Emilia disappeared around the corner heading for the gap between the northern wall and the backs of the buildings. I slipped through the tavern with Breeder, but we split up when I entered the small room where I’d first encountered Brugh, then raised the wooden bar to exit through the back door and into the alley where Guiles taught me about the legends of the Shénhuà.

When I reached the end of the alley, I encountered a rude surprise. The gate beyond where Priya devastated some wooden target dummies our first go round was no longer locked up and abandoned. Instead, A guard stood there, facing the clearing just before the woods that led to the mountains the dwarves called home.

I slipped to my right and behind him without any problem, but he would need to be accounted for once we’d done our recon.

Although Mashini, Tsumi, and Roshan waited in the back room with Breeder and company, every new sight and sound as I explored Brumhill brought possible tactics—how I might use the team. Whether we’d execute as a group, or whether the party would be needed at any point to pull off the capture.

Relieved when I returned to find the rope still dangling from the wall—apparently guards didn’t patrol behind the buildings—I maintained stealth mode as I ascended. When I reached the gap between parapets, I had to dip my head as a guard passed by at the worst possible moment.

Despite my firm clutch on the rope, my hands trembled as the rest of my body cringed in fear the bastard had seen me. But after a few seconds of silence, I hauled myself up. Having maintained my Borudā stance made that task a bit easier.

I snagged a dagger from its sheath behind my back, crept up on the guard, then ended him with a snap of his spine that didn’t require a rogue ability. The more one engaged in Enoran violence, the more one understood level didn’t matter as much when a blade hit its target. The trouble started when a much lower-level combatant tried to get the drop on a higher level one, and the game mechanics forced a striking hand off target.

In this case, the guard was level thirty-eight, and that gave me a two-level advantage.

Your Daggers skill has reached rank 156.

That didn’t hurt either, when it came to having advantages. Second only to my katana and bow work, I spent hours practicing my dual-wielding proficiency at the foundation, and it paid off when I needed to sneak around.

Thank the gods stealth is an agnostic ability in this world.

You have defeated a level 38 Defender.

+2,753 XP

Defenders Remaining: 5

Hmm. Why only five? Did they send half their contingent to fight the elven captain?

Not pausing to look a gift horse in the mouth, I patted down the guard, plucked two gold and forty-nine silver from his coin purse, then dragged him to the northwestern corner of the walk. The blood trail would vanish eventually. After I relieved him of a pair of short swords than weren’t half bad, I tossed him over the edge and into a row of bushes. If I’d had another rope, I might have climbed down to tuck him away and better conceal his body, but I was on a schedule.

Party Chat

[G3m1n1:] Emilia, we won’t need the gear from Breeder’s place. There are only—

A combat notification cut off the thought before my interface could print it.

Emilia Horne has defeated a level 39 defender.

+3,021 XP

Defenders Remaining: 4

[G3m1n1:] Okay, good job.

Once the swords were tucked neatly away in my magic bag, I walked the rest of the wall. I killed one other guard near a small structure on the southeastern corner, then dragged him inside. A small table rested along one bulkhead beneath a window looking out onto the town.

Hmm. A guard house.

I peered out the glassless window and, from that vantage, the one corner I’d yet to see was visible, revealing the guard house in which I stood was the lone one. But my attention shifted when a door opened atop the three-story building at the center of town. A man in a bright red robe stepped out into the night onto a stone walkway. Two more figures squeezed through simultaneously behind him. They stood along the smaller parapets and leaned over to peer down on the pair of guards we’d spotted earlier as they passed Breeder’s place.

When the robed figure’s head turned my way, I dipped below window level, counted off a few seconds, then peeked over the ledge again. It didn’t seem like he’d spotted me. Testing the range of my Analyze skill, I focused on him.

Granger the Vile (Boss)

Level 45 Pyromancer

“Shit. He’s going to be a problem.” I turned my gaze to the silver-clad, bald figure to his right.

Krayma the Strange

Level 42 Arcanist

The tallest of the three paced to the corner closest to my vantage point, so I scanned him next.

Miro the Swift

Level 43 Plague Bearer

My back slid down the wall when I turned away. Three classes I’d never heard of. Although two more panes materialized in my field of vision, I sent them to the periphery with a thought, so they became blinking notification icons.

You have encountered a Crew.

Unlike normal parties, Crews take blood oaths and gain bonus XP when they fight together. Crews cannot be formed until all party members are level 41 or greater. Crews enjoy bonus abilities to buff themselves and debuff their enemies. They use synergies to enhance each other in combat and cause bonus damage to their opponents. Adept fighters who must complete several challenges and quest lines to become a crew, they should never be taken lightly.

A crew can be registered at any arena venue throughout Enora.

So, that was why my interface reported that only four defenders remained. It was no wonder they’d only sent low levels in small numbers to Brumhill. Not only would a smaller contingent have a better chance to evade the notice of the elves, but with a group like this to defend the town with no military threats in range, it was a no-brainer. With the siege on the dwarves and the lack of mobility to cross the continent, it wasn’t difficult to see the monarch’s forces were stretched as thinly as the elves’. I brought back my Analysis tab, then focused on the new classes, in turn.

Arcanist

A rare specialty class, the arcanist requires the Arcane magic affinity.

Arcanists channel magic through metal cudgels and canes to debuff enemy combatants. A very difficult class to solo, the successful arcanist is constantly in motion to avoid melee and ranged attacks, and special abilities found nowhere else in Enora are used to increase their evasion.

I focused on the mentioned magic affinity.

Note: You have not learned the Arcane magic affinity.

No matter the thoughts I sent into my interface nor how I searched through my limited guides, I couldn’t dig up further information on Arcane magic. It seemed the expulsion of the previous AI iteration hadn’t changed the idea—discover the shit yourself first, then check back for details.

I cursed. According to my HUD, the Plague Bearer was a specialty profession acquired at level thirty. It required Warlock as its Advanced Combat Profession, which derived from the Shade Witch or Thaumaturge starter class. I’d fought shade witches who served the high priestess in the woods near Briarton, but I’d had no idea they represented a starter class, because the high priestess there used the souls of women defeated in town to summon them.

The things Enora withheld if one didn’t directly inquire.

I returned to my interface to see what little I could divine on the other classes.

Plague Bearer

A staff-wielding master of Shadow magic, the plague bearer uses poisons and disease to debuff enemies while using burst elemental damage in direct magic attacks.

Pyromancer

As the name implies, Pyromancers are masters of fire magic and enjoy bonuses to damage inflicted from the element.

As I fantasized about what combination of three I might gather at level forty-five to turn into a crew, I selected a blinking icon I’d left in the periphery of my HUD.

You are being offered a Legacy Quest!

Dispatch the Inglorious Three

Rewards:

5,000 gold

25,000 XP

A specialty weapon for your class and the classes of all party members, if the quest is shared.

Since my entire party was within the walls of Brumhill, I shared the quest. They all accepted but no one sent party chats to inquire further. Maybe they knew I was busy. Perhaps they’d been as awe-inspired as I when I’d read the unfamiliar class names or the details about crews. But I broke the visual silence.

Party Chat

[G3m1n1:] Where’s the nearest arena?

[Emilia:] If there are any in Rubal, I’ve never heard of them. The seating surrounding the wayportals we captured leave me wondering if that was their original intent, but I couldn’t imagine patrons paying to watch arena combat without magic, and magic would defy the Luttrell line’s mandates.

[G3m1n1:] If there’s anything I’ve learned in life, it’s that mandates can be set aside when they stanch the flow of money into the coffers of the powerful. If the wayportals were intended to become arenas, we own them now. Maybe we can register them someday.

[Emilia:] That would be your first thought. It seems we have to dispatch these three if we want to capture the town, so maybe we should focus there and deal with the other later.

[Roshan:] I know of three arenas in Lau. I’ve never been to one, but legends surround these crews going back ages. They will be accustomed to fighting together.

[G3m1n1:] Good to know.

I peeked out the opening again just in time to see the pyromancer vanish. He reappeared in the center of the road in the blink of an eye. He paced, stopped at the corner, turned to scan the area he’d passed, then continued down the side road toward the tavern.

Party Chat

[G3m1n1:] If these people made their bones in an arena, and Emilia says there are none in Rubal, then they’re mercenaries brought from overseas, and the description I got about crews says they shouldn’t be taken lightly. They use synergies to aid each other. The Pyromancer is a boss. Thoughts?

[Tsumi:] If I may. With your inexperience providing front-line defense, and since we aren’t as accustomed to fighting together, I think it’d suit us to separate them.

[Emilia:] Agreed.

[G3m1n1:] Let me check the quest one more time.

The other two crewmen stepped back inside the door atop the central structure as I brought up the information.

Your sworn enemy has captured a town in Eastern Rubal.

Objectives: Capture Brumhill in the name of Skyyville.

Name a mayor

Assign a foreman

Rewards:

25,000 XP

2,000 gold coins

One full level at the time of completion, in addition to any earned XP.

Limitations:

Party size: 5

Level cap: 45

A door opened on the first level and the other two crew fighters stepped outside just as the single guard we’d spotted earlier turned from the direction where the pyromancer had gone. The paired patrol we’d measured earlier appeared around the southern corner, spotted the arcanist and the plague bearer, then hustled toward them. The former waved them away with a disinterested swipe of one hand, and they resumed their northerly march to cross paths with the single guard.

Party Chat

[G3m1n1:] Okay, team. The quest rewards are separate from the takedown bonuses. So, if we get noticed and the stealth portion fails, we can live with that. The crew is out on the street now. Emilia and I will watch them, then devise a plan.

The elf mounted the northern wall while I crept out of the guardhouse to observe the patrols from the north.

26

In other games, the guards’ consistent pacing and the way they crossed paths right in front of Breeder’s shop every time would’ve left me believing it was a mechanic. Maybe it said something about their training, that they were used to marching, were former soldiers. Or perhaps the instanced environment was responsible. But I didn’t need to know why.

We’d use their predictable movements to our advantage.

We waited until the crew finished what turned out to be a short patrol of their own. When they returned to the central building, we set up.

After relocating to get a better view, Emilia watched the alley leading to the tavern, waited for the right moment, then called Tsumi, Roshan, and Mashini out of hiding. The mishon took the back road running parallel to the main thoroughfare, then Roshan hustled over to the hanging rope and mounted the northern wall.

The plan was simple. I’d reviewed the parameters for stealth takedown mode, and they reminded me that if guards sounded the alarm, we’d switch to overwhelming force—a stupid name given that kind of situation when we had anything but. It was one time I didn’t really care about the added XP. The quest to capture Brumhill would provide plenty, and breaking stealth at just the right time might serve us… if things went according to plan for once.

I knew better than to expect it.

In preparation for when the guards reached the ends of the side streets, and just before they emerged onto either side of the main road, Mashini took up position on the southwest corner. Tsumi, the northwest. I entered stealth, then crossed from the southern gate to the place where the enemy pair turned left to approach the loner.

After they met in the middle, Emilia clambered down. She used her camouflage ability to slide across the road, slipping in behind the two just as they turned to face the side street.

I waited until the other guard passed around the corner, then shoved a dagger into his flesh just beneath the chin so he couldn’t call out.

You have defeated a level 39 defender.

3,044 XP

Defenders Remaining: 3

A moment later, a combat notifications pane reported the following.

Tsumi uses Penetrating Shot.

Critical hit!

Mortal wound!

Emilia uses Drilling Arrow.

Critical Hit!

Mortal Wound!

Just like we’d planned. Maybe we weren’t used to fighting as a team without Desini and Liatra, but Emilia knew combat, and her insights about proximity and surprise attacks increasing the chances of critical hits proved golden. The bard and the Paracelsus, alike, were honed markswomen, but they were also brutal with their daggers. My interface reported as much moments later, just as the man I’d ended kicked in his final death rattle.

Tsumi had defeated a level 38 defender.

+2,766 XP

Defenders Remaining: 2

Emilia has defeated a level 41 defender.

+3,298 XP

Defenders Remaining: 1

A moment later, a surprise alert appeared.

Mashini has defeated a level 38 Defender.

Which meant she’d found the one by the northern gate, near the woods.

All standard defenders have been defeated.

Remaining Objective: Defeat Granger the Vile

It struck me as odd that the system reported the defeat of the standard defenders, but I guessed the two magicians I’d seen accompanying the town owner must not have counted. Which I hoped to mean alarms weren’t part of the picture anymore. I paused, considering a new option that wouldn’t totally blow up our plan, then reached out to the team. Time to ring some mother fuckers’ bells… literally.

I had no intention of drawing out citizens to aid us against a crew who were accustomed to fighting together, and I messaged Breeder to let them know.

I wondered if any citizens of the small town would be peeking out their windows, wondering why Breeder’d used the old town chat to instruct them to stay indoors? If so, they would get an eyeful.

I dragged the body across the road. Once I’d tucked it neatly behind the wall, I released a breath I’d been holding, then brought up my party chat.

[G3m1n1:] Roshan, in position?

[Roshan:] Moving down the southern wall right behind you, noob.

When I turned to verify her claim, I spied only a patch of dark sky with a smattering of stars peeking through an otherwise black blanket of clouds. I took her word for it.

A breeze blowing through the southern gate bit at the tips of my earlobes to remind me it was winter. I blew into my hands as I returned to the chat.

[Roshan:] Ready.

[G3m1n1:] Everyone else?

[Mashini:] I’m here.

[Tsumi:] Ditto.

[Emilia:] Roger.

I chuckled at the elven woman’s response.

[G3m1n1:] Okay, Mashini first.

A bell clanged then reverberated in the otherwise silent night, coming from my west. Although I flinched with worry that the system would end our stealth takedown, none came.

I’d been right. The crew didn’t count as defenders.

I tucked around a corner then brought my head around to case the alley toward the southern street. Time dragged as I started to wonder if the crew would respond, then the first figure passed across the opening at the other end, followed by the other two.

[G3m1n1:] Emilia, now!

Another bell rang, this time from the northern corner of town close to the gate. A few seconds later, the arcanist’s robe flared in the breeze as she hustled back in the direction from which she’d come. Knowing two enemies bore down on Mashini’s position, I called for Tsumi to do her thing from the third corner—the northwest.

I dashed out of the alley and hauled ass back toward the main thoroughfare. En route, I rang the third bell at the corner closest to the southern gate. If it drew the pyromancer or the plague bearer, all the better. I had no intention of being there when they arrived.

I sped past Leira’s former shop with both katanas drawn, and by the time I reached Breeder’s Arms next door, the arcane member of the Inglorious Three was in my sights.

Emilia emerged from the alley to cut off the bald woman. If things went according to plan, Tsumi would stand on the side street with her bow at the ready, and Mashini would appear any moment. The arcanist would need to fall before the other two figured out the plan, which meant we needed to move fast.

To prepare my opener, I verified I was in Hashi—my DPS stance. The arcanist screeched to a halt ahead of me when she spotted the elven bow-wielder, and I wanted to set up while her back was turned. I pointed my swords in her general direction, dipped, then spun counterclockwise.

You execute Senpū (Whirlwind).

+1 Air Charge

My follow up was more of the same.

You execute Senpū (Whirlwind)

+1 Air Charge

After the second spin, I lunged into a thrusting strike with both weapons aimed at the arcanist’s back.

You execute Aisushīrudo.

+1 Water Charge

Air + Air + Water = Ice Shield activated!

One katana shot wide of the mark as a blue aura surrounded me, but the other hit paydirt just above her right kidney. Since the distance to my target was always hard to estimate during the windup, the blade’s penetration was shallow. Krayma the Strange jerked. She performed a counterclockwise spin of her own, which slipped my blade out of her back, then she vanished in the blink of an eye only to instantly reappear behind Emilia.

As if she’d intuited the arcanist’s arrival, Emilia took two giant leaps in my direction, dropped low so her knees bent deep, then launched skyward as she twisted. Her whole bow flashed white as an arrow sailed toward her target. It slammed into Krayma’s shoulder. Green labels shot up on either side of Emilia’s head to identify the attack.

Leaping Reverse Shot

Evasion Activated.

Red tags popped up over Krayma’s head. They floated skyward as she was raised from her feet, then knocked onto her duff.

- 342 HP

With the red bar over her head dropping to 77-percent, the arcanist raised a short staff with a curve at the top for a handle. It flashed purple, then spherical orange runes popped up beneath Emilia’s and my feet.

Circle of Embers

Heat radiated from beneath my boots, and I dove in the arcanist’s direction to roll away, but the rune followed me. She used the moment to rise. When my forward motion brought me to my feet, I whipped one katana high overhead then bought it down in an arc—a motion I’d only learned when practicing with Emilia the morning before.

You execute Shitamuki No Surasshu.

Downward Slash

Krayma dodged to one side, avoiding my strike, but half the goal was met.

Enmity increased by 100%

Nice to know. That strike didn’t require contact to piss an enemy off, which made it magical, in effect, not damage-based.

The arcanist sneered in my direction and swung out with her cane. I deflected it with my main-hand sword, then brought the other up from my hip to slice toward her chin. But when the lightning bolt I expected to fire from the tip of my sword didn’t come, I eyed the responding text flag with irritation.

Inazuma Fails.

Opponent is of higher level.

After Krayma dove away from my follow up strike, she flashed out of existence, then reappeared about twenty feet to the south, further up the main road. Tsumi and Mashini darted around the corner. The four of us gave chase.

I spied Roshan atop a roof to my right, where she’d be well in healing range. Although she did cast a healing-over-time spell to counteract the effect of the fiery runes following us around, the arcanist’s repositioning left her out of range when we sped ahead.

The Light Druid got a running start, then jumped from one roof to the next. Lucky for her, the gap hadn’t been too wide, and she cleared it without peril.

A boomerang twirled past my ear, whistling as it flew in Krayma’s direction. She dropped to the ground into pushup position at the last moment, then the boomerang completed its harmless cycle, curving to sail back toward its thrower.

She’s a slippery shit.

It was then I noticed her health meter ticking up. But I hadn’t seen any healing-over-time spells cast, so I activated a slightly expanded combat log system to find out what was happening.

Circle of Embers

Gemini: -40 HP

Emilia: -40 HP

Tsumi: -40 HP

Roshan: Resisted Circle of Embers

Krayma the Strange

+60 HP (Circle of Embers)

Circle of Embers

Gemini: -40 HP

Emilia: -40 HP

Tsumi: - 40 HP

Roshan: Resisted Circle of Embers

Krayma the Strange

+60 HP (Circle of Embers)

While her runic spell drained life from my party every tick, the arcanist was receiving a boost of fifty percent of the damage inflicted returned in hit points. The uniform amount of forty HP informed me her higher level was inflicting the maximum possible. All told, the runes were annoyances but wouldn’t impact our health reserves in any significant way. After all, I owned a foundation where the master craftspeople focused on making us as efficient as possible.

But when two more figures darted around the corner to take up space on either side of their comrade, all that was about to be tested. The arcanist lowered her weapon, and the other two didn’t bother raising theirs. The man in the red robe stepped to the center, then Krayma slipped over to take up the space he’d occupied so they formed a triangle as they faced us. I noted how they stood at least ten feet apart and suspected the strategy was intended to keep AOE damage from impacting all three. My experience in all forms of PVP combat told me one thing.

Definitely not amateurs.

A yellow bar with black text popped over the red-robed leader’s head.

Granger the Vile (Boss)

Level 45 Pyromancer

He raised one hand, but it didn’t glow. “Despite your unsporting approach, I will show you the courtesy of introductions.” His accent was thick, almost Germanic. He swept both hands to his sides, then toward me with his palms up as he performed a half-bow. Pointing to his right, he indicated the bald woman there. “This is Krayma.”

The woman repeated the half bow but didn’t bother with the sweeping arms.

“This”—he swept the other hand out so he appeared ready to be crucified—”is Miro. And we are the Inglorious Three. Perhaps you wonder where the name comes from, since your lesser society hasn’t evolved to where you have formed arenas.”

I dipped my shoulders but kept my katanas in guard position. “No, I can’t say I really wonder. I get it. You’re a crew.”

Granger’s bushy red eyebrow shot up. “You know about crews, then?”

“Yeah, all I had to do was scope the three of you out. My interface filled me in.”

“Your interface filled you in about our status? As a crew? How?”

I flashed him a sideways grin. “Because I’m the Shénhuà, bitch.”

He blinked, then scanned. I waited. His gaze turned stony as he leveled it upon me. “You’re him.”

I nodded.

“Enemy to the king.”

Again, I nodded.

“Not that we hold any particular allegiance, but we were brought here to defend this town—at a handsome price. Your capture carries quite the bounty. Are you aware?”

“I have a general idea.”

“Do you know how many people will pursue you for twenty-five-thousand gold?”

I shared a glance with Emilia before returning my focus to the pyromancer. “I like keeping busy.”

Granger grinned. “Too bad they won’t have the chance.” He raised one finger then counted us off. “Only five? All lower levels? Did you really believe you would stroll in here and take what we defend? Insulting.” He shook his head in derision, then flashed a querulous gaze. “What’s your interest in such a backwoods town, anyway?”

“Not that my interests concern you, but I plan to attach it to my township in the Seran Hinterlands, and its citizens are more inclined to agree to that than fall under the rule of King Luttrell. Maybe you should’ve done a little research before you took the job.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because the Luttrells have regulated, enslaved, and forbidden magic users from practicing their crafts for generations in Rubal. Hell, if you accomplish your goal, you might outlive your usefulness. He might just have you imprisoned.”

The plague bearer cocked his chin then interjected. “The least of our worries, I assure you. But I must know. Is it all a ruse? Have you used a scroll to mask your true nature? Is the Shénhuà label genuine?”

Crouched low atop the roof of the adjacent building, Roshan called out in answer. “Such heathens, that they would question the validity of the goddess’s chosen.”

The plague bearer threw a wrist across his waist then bowed again. “Apologies, but I’ve never had much use for religion. The goddess doesn’t tend to involve herself in my day-to-day life.”

Roshan’s distant cough of laughter echoed across the road. “Perhaps because she doesn’t cater to evil. Tell me, does Hokrahm fill in the gap?”

Granger the Vile turned his head to the right in a subtle motion I would’ve missed if I hadn’t been focused and operating on the edgy surge of adrenaline. His voice came low.

The plague bearer waved a dismissive hand toward my druid companion, having set all polite discourse aside. “Your goddess could care less. It’s all one big ruse.”

“Enough of that, Miro. No need to be rude.”

I shook my head in derision.

The pretense with this guy.

Granger clapped his hands. “Well, I’ll never have it said we’re unfair. It is you, Shénhuà, who is at the disadvantage. So, I offer you parley.”

“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?”

He dipped his head then swiveled it from side to side. When he raised it again, his eyes gravitated to a sight over my shoulder, but I wasn’t about to show him my back to satiate my curiosity. “I would have the mishon. Give her to me, and we’ll allow you to leave Brumhill unscathed.”

I nodded. “Sure. Yup. Those are the magic words.” I swept a hand around then gestured toward the boomerang thrower. “That you would have me hand over one of my blessed companions to serve as your slave solidifies it.”

“Solidifies what?”

“That I’m not going to bother digging a hole in which to bury your corpse. Assholes like you should be fed upon by wildlife.”

He coughed a half-laugh, half-bark. “It’s unwise to challenge the champions of the Truzanian Arena, boy.”

“Wisdom is my lowest attribute.” I shrugged. “But now that you mention it, I could probably restore my elemental resource pools a bit faster in combat if I ticked it up.”

“I see you are disingenuous. So be it. But to prove I’m a man who respects etiquette, I offer you the honor of falling to the Inglorious Three honorably… in crew combat.”

You are being offered a crew duel.

In crew combat, defeated foes cannot fall below one hit point. Special arena abilities are allowed in crew duels. If you accept, you may form a crew of three.

“You must also think I’m stupid. I’m not going to hand you the advantage by reducing my number of lower-level combatants and let you use abilities you only enjoy when you’re inside an arena. I’d be handicapping us from the outset.”

“Oh,” he grumbled. “I suppose your interface is, indeed, extensive.” He called out to his teammate. “I guess that answers your question about whether he’s really the returned.”

“Maybe,” she replied. “But if it’s true, and his people can’t die anyway, we’ll just have to disable and stow them until more troops arrive to replace the guards they’ve killed.”

Granger the Vile shrugged. “Let the games begin, then.”

27

The three split up with the rear rank sprinting in either direction to widen their gap. Granger swept a scepter overhead, and it flashed in an attempt to blind us, but I resisted. Krayma raised both her arms then swirled them until a deep red glow bloomed. Fiery vines erupted from the ground, grasped my feet, then wrapped around my ankles, and fiery heat engulfed my legs.

Flame Trap

You are bound in place.

Emilia is bound in place.

Roshan is bound in place.

Mashini is bound in place.

Tsumi is bound in place.

You

- 25 HP

Mashini

-25 HP

Roshan

- 25 HP

Tsumi

-25 HP

I struggled to wrench my legs free to no avail, and while the ranged members of my party engaged, I might have been useless standing there with two swords. But it didn’t mean I had no answers. I threw up one hand, formed a fist, then brought it down hard. A glowing hammer materialized as it zipped down from above then crashed into the ground at Granger’s feet.

Evocation of the Shénhuà

Granger the Vile

Stun resisted

- 84 HP

The resulting damage of the attack proved disappointing, but that the boss resisted the stun sucked. The crew took up positions. Hands waved furiously. Red, lilac, and green glows appeared. Chaos ensued. My combat pane lit up like a comet entering earth’s atmosphere.

Miro the Swift casts Plague Cloud.

Emilia is affected by Plague.

Tsumi is affected by Plague.

Mashini is affected by Plague.

Emilia

-34 HP

Tsumi

-36 HP

Mashini

-33 HP

Krayma the Strange casts Cycling Rune

Roshan is affected by Cycling Rune.

Fire Rune activates.

Roshan

-75 HP (Burn)

The fiery tendrils burning my legs withdrew, ending the damage-over-time effect, so I started my three-move combination that would end in a strike against the boss and form my ice shield, but when I started my second spin, a glowing apparition materialized in the night sky, then swept toward me. The orange winged being slammed into my chest, then flames burst up my neck and down my torso.

Focused and wanting to strike before the pain set in, I gained the two air charges from the Senpū spins, then swept my blade down in an effort to split Granger’s head in half with Aisushīrudo, but the pyromancer slipped to one side so my katana sliced at the edge of his shoulder instead.

You execute Senpū.

+ 1 Air charge

Granger the Vile casts Burning Phoenix.

Burning Phoenix attacks you.

-127 HP

-15 HP (Burn)

-16 HP (Burn)

-15 HP (Burn)

You execute Senpū.

+ 1 Air charge

You execute Senpū.

+ 1 Air charge

You execute Aisushīrudo.

+1 Water Charge

Air + Air + Water = Ice Shield!

Ice Shield Activated.

In a stroke of luck, the ice shield counteracted the flame effect on my chest. Perhaps it sealed it in and cut off the oxygen needed for the effect to continue, but what the hell did I know? With the text flooding my HUD, I separated my party members’ combat logs into the four corners.

Roshan

Cycling Rune cycles to Air.

Air Rune activates.

Roshan

-65 HP (Wind)

Roshan Casts Flash Heal II.

Emilia

-40 HP (Plague)

Emilia is healed by Flash Heal II.

+132 HP

Emilia fires a Drilling Arrow.

Hit!

Krayma the Strange

-224 HP

Tsumi

-35 HP (Plague)

Mashini

-39 HP (Plague)

As the text filled the pane representing our enemies’ output in the bottom center of my HUD, I switched to Boruda stance and pressed my attack on the boss. He dodged a Downward Slash, so I brought the other katana around and sliced across his chest. His scepter swept across to clank against the flat of my blade just before impact, but I spun with the motion bringing a pommel-gripping back fist flush with his narrow chin.

The pyromancer stumbled back and I pressed the attack. Raising my swords in hopes he couldn’t block them both, I swung down with all my might. But he righted himself in time to bend backward, plant both hands on the rocky road behind him, and perform a handspring. A second later, he blinked out of existence. By the time I swung around to locate him, the scepter was already in motion. The slim metal frame surrounding the translucent stone at the top sliced through my chin.

Hot blood flowed down my neck and behind my armor. Fingers of pain cascaded across the torn skin. Frustrated, I blanked my interface then labels and tags reappeared over all the combatants heads.

I deflected another incoming blow and caught myself wondering why a caster was engaging me in melee combat. But at least I had his attention, and his enmity toward me sat at a strong ninety-seven percent.

But you haven’t drawn the other two to you, tank boy. Get on it!

The realization dropped my jaw even further than the scepter’s slice. When Granger the Vile lurched forward, I raised both swords to draw his scepter up like when he’d blocked me before, but when he set his weight on his front leg, I halted my swing, planted my weight on my rear foot, then spun to sweep my front boot into the side of his knee. The Pyromancer crumbled to both knees, and I brought my main katana around to decapitate him, but a sudden heat engulfed my head and threw my aim off. Text flowed up my HUD.

Miro the Swift casts Burning Wake.

-40 HP (Burn)

-40 HP (Burn)

Granger rolled to one side, avoiding the strike, then back onto his feet. He twisted his upper body, blinked out of existence, then appeared twenty feet away. Rather than charge, I turned in a half circle to find the other targets.

Miro stood at the foot of the building Roshan perched atop. His hands waved with green energy. A figure rose through the ceiling at the druid’s feet. It swept a clawed hand to strike at her knees before receding into the shingles again.

Plague Minion uses Claw Strike.

Roshan is affected by Plague.

Two stacks

Krayma the Strange hovered a few feet off the ground as she swept her cane back and forth overhead. A howling wind blew rocks and dirt up from the road, lifting Emilia from her feet. Her arms flung wide as she flew backward twenty feet before slamming into the ground. Her bow clattered away—something I’d never seen.

Krayma casts Gust.

Emilia is stunned.

The arcanist prepared a follow-up cast, but a whistling sound filled the air, then a boomerang sliced through her shoulder.

Krayma casts Hurricane.

Interrupted!

The unmistakable sound of a flute swelled on the wind as Mashini’s boomerang returned to her hand. Tsumi’s fingers danced over the air holes in a rapid chromatic scale.

Tsumi plays Protector’s March.

The result was a twenty-five percent resistance to magic damage, and I couldn’t help but wonder what other little tricks she held in her repertoire. I raised my fist then swept it down. The magic hammer from my Evocation of the Shénhuà ability slammed the ground with such force, it showered the plague bearer with rocks and debris. This time, the stun worked, but I needed to piss off one more enemy before I pressed the advantage. If nothing else, at least I’d taken him out of the battle long enough for my team to attack. Meanwhile, I turned my attention to the arcanist on Breeder’s front stoop. She swung her cane in an overhead circle to build up steam for some kind of attack.

The cycling rune she cast on Roshan switched to earth damage, but the druid’s Minor Heal III spell recovered enough health per tick to counteract it. Emilia’s stun effect ended. Tsumi charged across the road to take up position in the shadows of a porch roof.

As I closed, the arcanist’s cane flashed white. A bolt of lightning shot across the space between us, raised me from the ground, then dropped me on my ass.

Krayma casts Lightning Bolt.

- 156 HP

You are stunned.

Duration: Two seconds

The way the air left my chest sapped my energy to roll and get to my feet. I was reminded when Enora announced I was stunned, it was literal. The two second duration seemed an eternity as the pyromancer closed in.

The bald arcanist woman prepared a follow-up cast. By the time I gained my wind and sat up, it was too late. Text floated over the pyromancer’s head as he swept his hands toward his knees, then thrust them toward me.

Granger casts Flame Channel.

Two wide fingers of fire whipped across the earth to engulf me just in time for the arcanist to complete her cast. A swirling wind circled the area around us, then spread the fire toward Mashini and Emilia.

Krayma casts Hurricane.

Synergy activated!

Hurricane + Flame Channel

Fire spreads to additional targets.

I howled as the fire swept across my body. Rolling then getting to my feet, I scanned all around, my mind lost in the searing pain overwhelming my every nerve. My health dropped to twenty-seven percent. Emilia and Mashini caught fire and, while the mishon danced like me, Emilia tore an arrow free of her quiver and fired.

The Drilling Arrow cut into Krayma’s leg then twisted deep. The arcanist gave off a howl of her own, but she found the wherewithal to cast another Cycling Rune. I barely noticed the fiery circle beneath my feet with the way the flame channel burned me, but I knew the secondary effect of the runic spell was that it healed the enemy team fifty percent of the damage inflicted.

And screw that!

I sped away from the fire, targeting the plague bearer who stood clear of its area of effect. When I left the flames, the effect ended, except for a damage-over-time residual knocking off little chunks of health. Mashini followed suit and, to her credit, spied the target I pursued and set off. I looked up in time to find Roshan climbing down from the rooftop as the plague bearer turned to face me.

He waved a hand, causing another burst of fire to explode across my chest.

Burning Wake

Another effect came on its heels, as if it’d been timed.

Granger the Vile casts Raging Fire.

Synergy Activated!

Burning Wake + Raging Fire

Burn duration increased by five seconds.

I writhed in agony, my pace slowing despite my determination to reach the plague bearer. To reach anyone and dispense pain.

I spun twice, leapt skyward, then brought my sword down. Although I struck nothing, Ice Shield reactivated, and the fire was extinguished. Roshan burst past me.

“Where the hell—?”

Miro the Swift dodged to one side. He tried to speed around me, out of the range of my swords. But I dipped, then swung the blade I often reserved for blocking across his legs. It sliced through one knee, and blood instantly spewed from the wound through the gap I’d opened in his robe. He stumbled, tumbled, then face planted.

The other two casters would attack and drop another synergy on my party at any moment, and my health was down to seventeen percent. So, I dropped one katana, grasped the other with both hands, reversed my grip as I took two giant steps toward the fallen plague bearer, then launched.

I would’ve hated to see how they would have clobbered us if their synergies had been accentuated if I’d accepted to fight them arena style.

With my bodyweight behind the attack as I sailed downward, the sword split through the caster’s spine. A mortal wound alert flashed from his body then rose skyward. I twisted the blade to be sure.

“Miro!” A female voice shouted. “No!”

I rose, then turned toward the source of the utterance. The arcanist had rushed to the middle of the street. She stood about fifteen feet from my healer but stared at me with such venom, it was like she didn’t see Roshan at all.

But when the druid’s raven locks glowed with such bright light they turned white, she was impossible to miss. Brilliant balls of energy strewed in all directions to create trails that touched each party member. I focused on her for a moment as I gathered my dropped katana.

Nature’s Grasp

Surround the party in a cocoon of healing for fifteen seconds. Each party member will recover 5% of their overall health per second minus damage inflicted during the cycle, or until their health reaches 100%.

To my own surprise, I grinned when I turned to face the remaining two crew members. The runes beneath our feet vanished, and the struggle between damage inflicted upon and damage recovered by their ally came to an abrupt halt with a system message.

You have defeated a level 43 Plague Bearer.

+ 2, 475 XP

The tempo of battle screeched to an abrupt halt, as if the combatants had been frozen in time. Granger the Vile grimaced, his gaze set on his fallen comrade. A tear streaked down the arcanist’s face as Krayma the Strange descended from the porch in front of Breeder’s shop.

The pyromancer threw one hand in Roshan’s direction. I slid between them so he lost the line of sight needed to interrupt her heal. Five percent at a time, our health bars ticked upward.

Emilia strode to within fifteen feet of Granger with an arrow aimed at his head. Mashini circled behind her, and the healing stream followed. Tsumi stepped in a sideways gait with one foot crossing over the other in the shadows of the row of shops.

I faced the pyromancer. “Tenka Suru.” My swords burst into flames. “You can drop to your fucking knees now, or we can give you a taste of your own medicine.

As if she wanted to accentuate my words, Emilia increased the tension on her bow string, then a blue aura flowed down her projectile’s shaft, and fire bloomed around its arrowhead.

“You killed him.” Krayma heaved a shallow breath from off to one side. “You killed Miro.”

I kept my focus on the higher level Granger when responding to the other. “Why are you surprised? It’s like I told you, I’m the Shénhuà, bitch.” I nodded at Emilia. She fired. The arrow tore through the pyromancer’s temple. Tsumi’s projectile soon followed, lodging into his back. A boomerang sliced Granger’s neck, opening a gaping wound. His eyes rolled skyward, as if in derision.

Then Emilia’s arrowhead exploded. Gore shot in all directions.

You have defeated a level 45 Pyromancer (Boss).

11, 750 XP

Krayma the Strange tossed her cane onto the ground. “We are beaten. I surrender.”

Roshan’s channeled healing spell completed and, although our health bars almost topped off, the echoes of burning streamed through me, and if not for the remaining threat—disarmed or not—I would’ve scanned myself for burns.

Tsumi stepped forward. “Surrender? You tried to kill the goddess’s chosen, and you think we’re going to let you surrender?” She whipped a curved dagger with an ivory handle from its sheath on one hip. “Nuh-uh. You will face Solara’s justice this day.”

I raised one hand. “Or…”

Tsumi brought her advance to a halt. “Or? What do you mean or?”

I eyed the arcanist. “Or you can tell me how you became an arcanist, and I might just decide to send you out the northern gate in one piece.”

Tsumi’s chin dropped. “Seriously? She just tried to—”

“Tsumi. If you’re surprised people try to kill us, you’re in for a very long life of surprises. This happens a lot. Everyone wants a piece of me these days.” I threw my hands out in a soft gesture to either side. “Sure, we can just stomp them underfoot for having the audacity, but I think the goddess would want us to honor the opportunities they might provide, in those rare occasions where they do.”

Emilia chuckled. “Don’t listen to his bullshit. He just wants to be an arcanist.”

Tsumi dropped her fists to her hips, one still clutching the dagger. “Damn. I forget you can change classes. Isn’t it a lot to manage?”

Krayma the Strange cleared her throat. “Are you all planning to kill me or not?”

Emilia, Roshan, and I answered in perfect synchronization. “Shut up!”

28

At the moment the metaphorical sunshine washed over our victory in Brumhill, it started raining. Krayma the Strange dropped to one knee as a sudden wind burst through the southern gate and, at first, I wondered if she hadn’t cast a spell. But when the first droplets of cold water beat against the crown of my skull, I dismissed the thought and addressed one of many notification icons blinking in my HUD’s periphery.

Krayma the Strange offers her surrender.

If you accept her surrender, you will not receive the XP you would gain from killing her, but all other rewards associated with capturing Brumhill will be realized. In addition, you may order Krayma teleported from the town at a time of your choosing. As long as she is in the town limits, Krayma may not attack anyone unless she is provoked.

Do you wish to accept the surrender of Krayma the Strange?

In any other situation I’d have probably lopped the arcanist’s head off. I was an advancement whore. But learning about a new class was sure to stay my hand—or at least lure me into considering my options. There were also two more elements to consider, one of which arose when the people of Brumhill began filing out of their homes despite the rain.

I was about to capture their town. What message would it send if I killed Krayma when she’d surrendered? While I was sure some of them knew about me and the bullshit legends surrounding the Shénhuà, I didn’t know how many. But it was a small town, and last time I’d been there, I’d left a bit of a mess in the middle of the road—in the form of one of Blackbard’s bandits.

The other element I considered was how the king hired these mercenaries. For him, it was personal. If someone had offered me 25,000 gold to take out a target, I’d probably have hunted them. For the mercenary crew, it hadn’t been personal. On the other hand, the remnant shining streak of a tear that painted her face before the rain came to wash it away meant I’d just killed someone precious to her. She hadn’t responded the same when we’d ended the pyromancer, but the plague bearer was a different story.

In the end, it was the system message that encouraged an end to my deliberations. If Krayma couldn’t attack townspeople or my team, and if I could send her packing with a simple thought, then she posed no danger, and I might benefit from her survival.

I accepted her surrender.

You have completed a quest objective!

Liberation

Objectives:

Capture Brumhill in the name of Skyyville: Complete

Defeat All Defenders: Complete

Name a mayor: Incomplete

Assign a foreman: Incomplete

You have completed a quest!

Party of Three

Dispatch the Inglorious Three.

Rewards:

5,000 gold

25,000 XP

A specialty weapon for your class and the classes of all party members who share this quest.

You have reached level 41!

+1 Dexterity

+1 Constitution

You have five attribute points to spend.

You have three skill tree points to spend.

A golden flash surrounded Roshan, then funneled into the dark, rainy sky. Another pane shot open to announce her gaining levels 37 and 38. While the jubilation over our advancements flooded me with a warmth even the cold rain couldn’t penetrate, it also prompted an idea. I peered down at the defeated arcanist resting on her knees in the middle of the road as the townspeople flooded in to surround us.

“Roshan?” The druid strolled over then set a hand on my shoulder but didn’t speak. “Do me a favor.”

“What can I do?”

“Resurrect Miro the Swift before the timer expires.”

Roshan’s head swiveled toward the corpse of the plague bearer, then back in my direction. “Are you certain?”

Krayma the Strange clapped her hands together then interlaced her fingers. “If you can save him,” she walked on her knees until she brushed the hem of Roshan’s robe, “I will pledge my fealty to you for all my days. Please, please resurrect him.”

Roshan and I shared a long gander. One side of her lips curved and tightened. “It never ceases to amaze me how you either win hearts or inspire hatred. In this case, you were able to do both.” She took a step back and waved Krayma away. “You will not pledge fealty to me, for it is the Shénhuà who asks I spare your compatriot.”

She marched across the road with chin ticked up despite the rain pelting her face. When she spread her arms and white light engulfed her, I turned my attention back to my interface.

Name a mayor.

I caught sight of Breeder milling in the crowd about thirty feet away and waved him over.

“Gemini, how will we ever thank you?”

I clapped a hand onto his back. “Breeder, my man, it’s I who should thank you. Your intel was invaluable, and if we get the dwarves and the elves united against the king, things could change in a big way for Brumhill, Skyyville, and the rest of the East. Now, how would you like to be the mayor of Brumhill?”

Breeder’s lips curled up like a worm, and his head cocked back on his neck. “Oh, I couldn’t. It would be… well, Margie might think I’ve betrayed her.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because we’d just elected her mayor when those bastards took our town.”

“Oh. Then I’ll name her mayor.”

“That easy? You can do that?”

Maybe Breeder hadn’t quite caught the gist of what would happen when I captured Brumhill, and it left me a bit uncomfortable needing to explain it to him. After all, it was more his town than mine. All the people surrounding me had probably called it home most of their lives.

But Breeder displaced my concerns. “Oh, of course you can. We’re part of Skyyville now, right? That’s what my interface says.” He dipped his chin to show me the circular bald spot atop his head. “And we welcome it, I assure you. You can open new trade paths, right?”

Just like Timpy Gnarling. “Always the capitalist, Breeder. Am I right?”

“Cap-i-tal-ist?” He enunciated each symbol to ensure he got it right.

That was twice I’d made that same mistake. I never learned. “It means you like trade.”

“Ah, then yes. I’ve longed to open more routes to buy and sell my wares. My stock could use an upgrade. Getting anything above level twenty around here is… difficult. Why, I can’t even import it from my son’s shop in Brusaria.”

I thought of the wayportals stretching west from my foundation. “I might be able to help with that someday, too. But first things first.”

I named Margie Greenhill Mayor.

Quest Update:

Objective completed!

Name a mayor.

Objectives:

Capture Brumhill in the name of Skyyville: Complete

Defeat All Defenders: Complete

Name a mayor: Complete

Remaining objective:

Assign a foreman to your new township.

That one would prove more complicated. When I considered all that Pulo did to keep my foundation purring, it followed that naming someone off the cuff wouldn’t do. I didn’t know any of the people forming the crowd around us. Someone growled words I couldn’t make out, and I turned to find a tall young man with scraggly sand-colored hair thrusting a finger toward the recently resurrected plague bearer. Krayma the Strange embraced Miro the Swift, pulling him away from the accusing gesture.

I set aside thoughts of foremen and hurried over to stand between the young man and our former opponents. “I get why you’re upset, but I’m going to need you to back up.”

When his face stretched into a tight mat, I realized his size didn’t equate to his age. While he stood a few inches taller, his smooth complexion and lack of crow’s feet had me guessing he couldn’t be more than sixteen.

“Why should I? They came in here and— “

Breeder appeared and stepped in. “Gimman, you address the Shénhuà. The new—” he turned my way. “What do I call you?”

“Gemini is fine.” I wasn’t about to utter the word master. All I needed was to throw around a dominant title and get the young man’s hackles up.

But Breeder had other ideas. “It doesn’t matter his title. He is the servant of Solara who has liberated us this day. You would do better to kneel, lest you be driven from your home.”

I waved my hands in front of my face. “No, no. No one’s being driven from anywhere. Thank you, Breeder, but I understand why everyone would question my decision to keep these two around.” I didn’t know I’d decided that, at all, but my mouth ran away with shit sometimes. “But I can assure you, their power to harm you has been stripped. You have my word that they’ll cause no trouble.”

Gimman scowled. “And if they do?”

I stepped up close to him and set a level gaze. “Then I’ll kill them myself. Now back off.” The boy-man considered me for a long moment, cast a look over my shoulder, then stepped back. “Thank you.”

The two casters stood side by side scanning the crowd for threats. I gestured toward the door of the three-story building from which they’d emerged prior to combat. “Why don’t you two wait inside?”

Krayma the Strange doubled at the waist then rose. “Thank you. May the light of a thousand stars shine on you.” She gripped her friend’s elbow to lead him away, then stopped. Her head cocked toward Breeder’s place. “What of Granger?”

I eyed the pyromancer’s corpse. “Sorry. Only one boss allowed. As far as you go, that’s me. Be clear on that, because until I’m convinced this wasn’t a mistake, you’re on a short leash.”

“I will fill in Miro when we’re inside. Thank you, Shénhuà.”

“Welcome. Now piss off before someone gets ideas.”

I didn’t like being an ass, but sometimes it served. If her promised loyalty proved true, she’d shoulder it. Emilia, Tsumi, and Mashini stood across the road encircled by a small crowd. Heads nodded with enthusiasm, and I was grateful to see no intervention was needed there, because I had more business.

Roshan’s forehead wrinkled when my gaze fell onto her. “What is it?”

“I need a foreman to complete the quest, and we’re all going to level this time.”

“Sometimes I wonder if Warrington was the best place for me. You show up, and I’m advancing like the goddess intended it.”

“Maybe she did, but your service to the students and the people of Warrington is valuable, too. Especially the young minds.”

“Can you summon a foreman? Like when you formed the foundation?”

I shook my head. “It didn’t offer.”

“Can you name Pulo?”

“I need him in Skyyville. How would he—”A lightbulb flickered on and I palmed my forehead. When we’d taken Greycutter, a portal between the port and New Ninn was offered. Why would a township be any different?

I named Pulo Foreman, and the system accepted.

Pulo Thickfinger has been named foreman of Brumhill.

Congratulations!

You have completed a quest!

Liberation

Objectives:

Capture Brumhill in the name of Skyyville: Complete

Defeat All Defenders: Complete

Name a mayor: Complete

Assign a foreman: Complete

Rewards:

25,000 XP

2,000 gold coins

One full level, in addition to any earned XP.

Oohs and ahs filled the air against the timpani of pattering rain as golden light surrounded the members of my party, then spouted up and away from our heads. The glorious music filled my ears.

You have reached level 42!

+1 Dexterity

+1 Constitution

You have ten attribute points to spend.

You have six skill tree points to spend.

Roshan has reached level 39.

+2 Intelligence

+2 Constitution

Roshan has ten attribute points to spend.

With a disposition of beloved, you may spend five attribute points for Roshan.

Emilia has reached level 41.

+2 Dexterity

+2 Constitution

Emilia has five attribute points to spend.

With a disposition of beloved, you may spend five attribute points for Emilia.

Mashini has reached level 42.

+2 Dexterity

+2 Constitution

Mashini has five attribute points to spend.

With a disposition of beloved, you may spend five attribute points for Mashini.

Tsumi has reached level 42.

+2 Dexterity

+2 Constitution

Tsumi has five attribute points to spend.

With a disposition of endeared, you may spend four attribute points for Tsumi. To spend more attribute points on Tsumi, increase disposition.

Although I didn’t like banked attribute points, I hoped Tsumi’s disposition would move in the right direction, and I made a mental note to make it so. Besides, I’d known her for all of three days. ‘Endeared’ wasn’t bad.

You have liberated Brumhill!

Reputation Increase:

Now that Brumhill has been added to your territories, your reputation with its citizenry has increased to maximum, but it will depend on you to maintain it!

Current Reputation: 500/500

Your reputation with King Luttrell has decreased.

You are now loathed by King Luttrell.

“Good,” I muttered. “I don’t like that asshole, anyway.” All the flashing icons would’ve been annoying while in combat, but I welcomed each new alert in hopes they add up to liberating Eastern Rubal and, hopefully, rescuing Priya.

Would you like to open a portal to Skyyville for the cost of 1,000 gold?

I didn’t even check our reserves first. Another wave of sound crossed the crowd, and a few outstretched arms indicated the third floor of the central building, where a pinkish portal of cascading light hovered. A prompt asked if I’d like to rename the town, but I declined and swept it away.

Roshan grasped my shoulders then turned me back toward my remaining party members. Glowing purple objects hovered in the air before them and reached around to point toward another pair. “I believe those belong to us.”

I’d forgotten all about the quest reward for dispatching the Inglorious Three. Weapons! I loved me some weapons.

I scurried over, reached out, and snatched my reward.

29

Emilia frowned when she realized the bow she received was trash compared to her current one. An ice wand materialized for Roshan, Mashini received a new boomerangs—sans blades—and Tsumi ended up with a shiny new lute that boosted her buff range by five yards.

When I grasped my new katana, the purple hue faded to reveal a beautiful instrument of death plated in gold.

Bountiful Katana of Resources

This weapon increases the amount of gold looted from enemies, chests, and all other sources by 25%.

Type: Katana

Slot: Main hand

Damage: 244-300

Quality: Very Rare

Durability: 100 of 100

+10% to all Samurai/Shogun resource pools

It didn’t require contemplation. It was the best piece of loot I’d snatched to date. The increase to the pools fueling my Air, Fire, Earth, and Water attacks alone was huge. I pumped one fist in victory, but when I turned to share the boon with my team, I found the eyes of every Brumhill citizen locked on to me.

With points to spend on my own and companion attributes, not to mention the ones dedicated to skill trees I hadn’t touched since the Depth of Seran, I itched to get those bits of business done. But denying I liked putting on a good show would be an outright lie. And so it was, when I gathered the people of the town after the rain faded and walked them toward the southern gate, excitement swelled in my chest. I snatched up the pyromancer’s scepter en route, then dropped it in my inventory for later perusal.

My mind wandered to my half-elf lover’s beautiful face, and a moment of regret that she’d miss the event tugged at my chest. But I recalled Katelyn’s words about her being an NPC, whether I’d embraced it or not, and sent my mourning away.

Roshan stood by, casting a wary eye toward a building at the end of the row. “Must you place it here? The image of those men cutting Priya’s throat and murdering you resides in my consciousness, and it’s even worse when I look upon the place where it happened.”

The innkeeper who’d conspired with the king’s men to kidnap Roshan from the Brumhill Inn was nowhere to be seen, and considering we’d left him bruised and devoid of any ego, I wouldn’t have cared if he appeared. But having Roshan next to me seemed… poetic.

“What they did here failed. It was the first time Priya and I died, yet we trudged out of the Dark Wood hell bent on rescuing you. We overcame. Besides, if the governor’s lackeys hadn’t killed us and taken you, we wouldn’t have returned to the Dark Wood, wouldn’t have passed Zhara a second time, and she would never have done that weird far-seeing ability to find Desini en route to Brumhill. We might never have crossed her path. And without her as a tank and partner, we probably would’ve failed.” I swept a hand toward the inn. “If anything, this place should be a symbol of our victory.”

Breeder appeared on my other side. “And the innkeeper vanished after his encounter with you.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes. Very sad. He disappeared the day we met. No one has taken over the place. But now that you’re opening trade, we might have travelers. Maybe we can find someone.”

“Wait, you’re saying the innkeeper disappeared after Priya, Desini, and I met you?”

He nodded. “Yes. I never saw him again.”

“Hmm. I wonder if he hauled ass thinking we’d come back for him.”

Or if Zhara took offense at his treatment of her daughter…

“Oh, did he mistreat you?” Breeder asked.

“He’s the one who let the Governor of Knall’s men inside to kidnap Roshan, slit Priya’s throat, and run a sword through my neck. When Priya and I returned to get our gear, I warned him if anything happened to Roshan, Priya would be leveling her Skinning skill using his innkeeper hide.”

“I’d run, too,” Breeder muttered.

I chuckled. “Let’s get to it, what do you say?”

Breeder shrugged. “Aye, if you say we should, we should. But I don’t know what we’re doing.”

I mentally tapped a notification icon. It expanded into a pane, and the golden frame flashed as it centered on my field of view.

Please select a location for your Master’s Cabin.

A glowing yellow cube appeared, then I extended a finger to select it. It swept across the patch of earth beside the abandoned inn until I had it centered. It turned green to indicate the placement worked, then I nodded. The crowd dropped away like a flock of turning birds when the soil spat debris, the short grass turned brown and hardened then turned to powder, then the area rumbled as the hilly terrain crumbled to form a smooth foundation.

Since I’d seen the way trees split into boards then formed frames, walls, and a roof, I watched the crowd. The shared expression of awe on their faces was priceless. This was how the Shénhuà won followers, by showing them the magic.

Right around the time the last shingle formed on the roof, a low figure I mistook for Breeder slid into my peripheral vision. He cleared his throat.

“Aye, ye’ve done it again, MG.”

My head whipped around. “Pulo?” I swept my gaze in all directions. “How the hell did you get here?”

“Through the portal you opened, MG.” He rapped the side of his head loud enough to be heard. “So swept up by the goddess’s magic are ye, that ye’ve lost track?”

“Yeah, lots going on. Welcome to Brumhill.”

“Aye, a fine township.” He dropped his volume. “Not Skyyville yet, mind ye, but we’ll have her going in no time. A few trade agreements, a few building upgrades, then the barracks to protect her, and we’ll be GTG, as you like to say.”

“I didn’t even think about a barracks. Hell, I need to read up on what all we can build.”

Pulo clapped my shoulder. “Now, MG, don’t get ahead of yourself. I can summon a few laborers, but we don’t want to go through all the gold reserves at once. I figure we can raise the barracks, claim a lake I saw on my map to the south near the Dark Wood for its fish, and work from there. Once trade is flowing—not an easy task considering the turmoil to the north and no other towns around here—all will be right with Brumhill.”

“What if I could open direct trade with the dwarves up on the mountains? They’re under siege by a Luttrell battalion and have no intention of engaging, but I have a back door of sorts and could funnel trade right into Brumhill.”

“Ohhh, Master Gemini, that would be quite the boon. If we act as a proxy between the dwarves and other trading partners, we would take a percentage of each transaction.”

“Oh, wow. That does sound… lucrative. But tell Timpy I don’t want him bartering to anyone’s detriment. I want allies, and I’m willing to take less profit if it means forming those kinds of bonds.”

“Understood. Now, if ye don’t mind, I’ll congratulate ye and step inside your master’s cabin to conjure the map and do some planning.”

My head whipped around to find the master’s cabin’s construction had completed while I gabbed with my foreman. The crowd surrounded it, running fingers along the siding and peering through the windows. Pulo and I shared a grin.

Upon second glance, I leaned toward him. “Is it just me, or is this thing tiny?”

Pulo laughed as he stepped forward. “I think someone’s been spoiled. We’ll have to see about leveling out your expectations.” He waved his hands toward the townspeople. “Make a hole, the lot of ye. There’s work to be done, and I’m your town foreman. Make a line and I’ll show one or two of ye inside at a time.”

I slipped away while all the backs were turned. I thought I was slick until four figures fell in around me.

Roshan hooked her arm inside mine while Emilia strode on my opposite side, and Mashini and Tsumi brought up the rear as we crossed to the center of the road, opened the door to the three-story building boasting small parapets on high, then entered.

A set of stairs sat to the right, but we bypassed them to follow a long hallway to another door. A seating area was nestled in one corner beneath thick cobwebs that accentuated the whole first level. We returned to the stairs. The second floor was a living area with wall dividers separating three beds. Footlockers sat at the foot of each, but two were empty, and the third held simple linens.

We found Miro the Swift and Krayma the Strange on the third level standing next to a long, unpolished bar with mugs in front of their stools. The dusty area wouldn’t have qualified as a tavern, but several others with plush seats arranged in circles indicated someone had entertained there.

Miro read my mind when he raised his head from his mug, and his voice echoed off the walls. “This was the former mayor’s place.”

I shook my head. “I just reinstated her. It’ll be her place again.”

Emilia elbowed my arm. “Maybe you should reconsider that. This is a lot of space, and if you plan to expand, Pulo could make use of it.”

After a moment’s contemplation, I nodded. “You’re right. We’ll arrange more prudent accommodations for the mayor. The question now is”—I turned toward the two casters— “what are we going to do with you?”

The bald arcanist rose, set her palm to her abdomen, then bowed over it. She spoke as I stared at the top of her head. “I’m at your disposal, Shénhuà. The kindness you showed in having your holy woman resurrect Miro will not be forgotten. I pledge my fealty willingly and will serve in whatever capacity you deem necessary.”

She straightened, then Miro rose and repeated the bow, speaking while doubled over. “You spared my life despite our conflict, so it is yours.”

It was a unique scenario compared to the rest of my time in Enora. I’d never considered employing—even less binding—former enemies. Especially since I never really thought of Probert Mulk as an enemy. I didn’t subscribe to the old adage that I should keep my friends close and my enemies closer. But that situation was new, and while I hadn’t been a huge proponent of people pledging fealty in my first week in the world, the bowing casters offered benefits others hadn’t.

First, Miro was a plague bearer and Krayma was an arcanist. Two classes I hadn’t encountered. I loved leveling up multiple classes and, even though time hadn’t permitted much secondary advancement, I had my whole life to learn.

Then there was the whole crew thing. The way one’s spells created synergies when cast to compliment the other’s was a whole new ball of wax. It wasn’t until then it occurred that taking the pyromancer out of the equation might have cut out some of those synergistic possibilities.

I could always level up pyromancer if there’s a gap, though.

I focused on a blinking icon.

Krayma the Strange has pledged fealty to you.

When players reach level 40, they may accept pledges of fealty in lieu of binding NPCs to themselves. This is especially useful when the NPCs have not reached the friendly disposition required for binding. Fealty is treated like any other contract in Enora.

You may specify the terms of the contract, choosing them from a list of available contingencies.

Do you wish to accept Krayma the Strange’s pledge of fealty and assign terms?

I gave the arcanist a long gander, noting the reflective quality of her yellow irises. One end of a pointed nose twitched as my gaze lingered, and I snapped out of it. I accepted her fealty then more text flooded the active pane.

Choose any one of the following penalty terms to fulfill this contract:

1. Krayma the Strange will be exiled from your properties and banned from returning unless as a member of a proper raiding party.

2. Krayma the Strange will pay a sum of your choosing to release herself from the contract. On breech, the system will automatically retrieve funds and place them in your personal inventory.

3. Krayma the Strange will be executed.

“How serious are you about this pledge?”

The arcanist chewed one lip and, although only a couple seconds passed, time crept considering the circumstances. “I would accept death as the penalty before I betrayed my pledge. You don’t know me Shénhuà, and I hail from parts thousands of miles across the sea to the west, but my people pledge fealty only to those who have shown the kind of character you displayed this day. I regret our choice to work for a king who loathes magic and, although I suspect Granger knew this truth and kept it from us, I would never have served had the situation been known to me.”

I didn’t know if I could accept her claim she’d been kept in the dark, but she had me with the first words out of her mouth—that she would accept death if she betrayed me. I chose number three, then monitored her expression as her eyes flicked left to right to read the results.

The arcanist’s eyelids slid closed then she gave a deep dip of her chin. “Thank you, Shénhuà. It will be my honor to serve the goddess at your side.”

Roshan hummed. “Hmm. Yes, this is the answer I sought.” She cast a wary gaze over Krayma’s companion, probably having noticed how he diverted his eyes when Krayma mentioned serving the goddess. It had been Miro, after all, who’d said he had little use for religion half an hour before.

But the plague bearer noticed our attention, rose, then bowed a second time. “I, too, would accept death, and I am only moments removed from its dark, silent grasp. I have no desire to return to it.”

Miro the Swift has pledged Fealty to you.

I selected the third option again. That bit of business done, I strolled over then extended my hand. “Your weapons, please.”

They offered them willingly and probably wondered why I hadn’t disarmed them sooner, but that wasn’t my intent. I clutched the cane Krayma had wielded against us.

Arcanist’s Cane of Fright

Type: Weapon

Slot: Main hand

Damage: 44-55

Quality: Very Rare

Durability: 89 of 100

+10% duration of fear effects

Rare specialty combat profession discovered.

Arcanist

A rare specialty class, the arcanist requires the Arcane magic affinity.

Arcanists channel magic through metal cudgels and canes to debuff enemy combatants. A very difficult class to solo, the successful arcanist is constantly in motion to avoid melee and ranged attacks, and special abilities are used to increase their evasion. Arcanists use a special energy called Arcana to fuel their spell casting.

Prerequisite:

Unlike other specialty classes, there is no prerequisite starter class for arcanist. The class is learned by NPCs who specialize in any Shadow Magic discipline prior to level twenty and who read the Tome of Arcana.

Players are not required to read the Tome of Arcana to choose this class.

Players may select the arcanist class if they’ve learned any shadow-magic-based starter class, but they must wield a weapon designed exclusively for the discipline. Since there are no prerequisite classes, players who have advanced past level 30 begin their arcanist journey at level 30.

Because you have equipped the shadow mage starter class, you are eligible to become an arcanist.

Would you like to become an arcanist?

When I nodded, a green flash surrounded me, then streams of light burst out in all directions. Miro and Krayma fell back a pace and bumped into the bar like twins. Tsumi’s head jerked, but the rest of my party stood stoic, like it was commonplace.

You are now a level 30 Arcanist.

You have learned the following spells:

Frightful Illusion

The arcanist calls the image of a demon from the depths to send enemies fleeing in fear.

Type: Spell

Cast Time: instant

Cooldown: 20 seconds

Cost: 20% Arcana

Additional Effect: Fleeing enemies are 15% more susceptible to ranged and magic damage.

In all the turmoil, it was possible Krayma had used Frightful Illusion to send one of my party mates fleeing during combat, but I didn’t think I’d miss a demon exploding from the ground. Roshan probably wouldn’t take kindly to my summoning demons, so I decided not to mention it.

Hurricane

The enemy is engulfed by a circle of wind causing Air damage.

Type: Spell

Cast Time: Three Seconds

Cooldown: 5 seconds

Cost: 10% Arcana

Synergy: If flame channel is active, the flame spreads into three fingers that stretch across the ground to impact two additional targets.

And there we had the first synergy effect. The wind from the Hurricane spell spread the fingers of fire from Flame Channel to spread the damage. That I didn’t see Flame Channel when I scanned the list of arcanist spells reinforced the idea that synergies were a union of the effects resulting from multiple spell casters.

Gust

A gust of wind raises an enemy from the ground and knocks them back twenty feet.

Type: Spell

Cast Time: Four Seconds

Cooldown: 15 seconds

Cost: 15% Arcana

Additional Effect: Stun

Stun Duration: 4 Seconds

Every time I parried an attack and my adversary froze because of my Slippery skill tree, I burst with joy. The ability to strike with my enemy’s defenses degraded was top of my list when performing combat practice. If I decided to level up arcanist—almost a forgone conclusion at that point—I’d use that stun and watch the cooldown timer to use it again.

Lightning Bolt

A bolt of lightning strikes the enemy causing electricity damage and stunning them for two seconds.

Type: Spell

Cast Time: Two Seconds

Cooldown: 10 seconds

Cost: 15% Arcana

Additional Effect: Any enemy affected by Lightning Bolt gains the debuff: Susceptible.

Susceptible: Combatant is more susceptible to all elemental damage while stunned.

Wow. A second stun effect. Arcanist looked bad assed. Glorious images of opening with a Lightning Bolt to stun an enemy for a couple seconds then following up with Gust to stall the target for four more was cause for enthusiasm. But Krayma the Strange hadn’t used the cycle, and I didn’t know why. Perhaps back-to-back stun effects led to diminished returns, but the tool tip didn’t mention them. I’d ask her later.

Cycling Rune

The Arcanist activates a rune that debuffs the enemy and cycles through elemental damage types every five seconds.

Type: Spell

Cast Time: Five Seconds

Cooldown: One minute

Effect Duration: One minute

Cost: 35% Arcana

Additional effect:

If cycling fire, +15% Fire damage

If cycling wind, +15% Wind damage

If cycling earth, +15% Earth damage

If cycling water, +15% Water damage

If cycling arcane, +25% Arcane damage

If I recalled, cycling rune cost Roshan sixty-five points of damage per tick when the fire rune activated to begin the spell effect. Not burst damage by any means, but a nasty affliction to suffer over time. With a five-second cast time, it was one hell of a DOT to drop on a healer when a battle began. I wondered if it could be dispelled.

Circle of Embers

The caster lays a burning runic circle of Arcana at the enemies' feet causing Arcane Damage.

Type: Spell

Cast Time: Five Seconds

Cooldown: 90 Seconds

Effect Duration: One minute

Cost: 30% Arcana

Additional effect: Caster’s party members are healed for 50% of damage inflicted upon enemies.

The ninety-second cooldown on Circle of Embers was an illustration of balance if ever I’d seen one. Like other spells in the arcanist’s repertoire, it came with a steep resource pool cost, as well. I’d have to weigh a situation to decide if the single-target effect of Cycling Rune or the spread damage of Circle of Embers was the better opener.

But I also noticed how the arcanist class’s resources were spent percentages instead of specific amounts. So, as they leveled, the impact on their pools remained constant. A strange way to regulate resource usages. In the moment, I couldn’t divine a logical reason for it.

Tsumi set a gentle hand on my shoulder. “While you stand with your eyes darting, I think I’ll enjoy the night air. Let me know if you need me.”

When the rest of the party followed her, I decided to tag along. To Krayma’s surprise, I tossed the Arcanist’s Cudgel of Fright back to her before snatching Miro’s short staff from the bar top. “I’ll bring it back when I’m done.”

“Of course, Shénhuà.”

“You two can start calling me Gemini.”

They nodded.

The portal glowed against the night sky when I stepped onto the balcony. Although sleep beckoned, I didn’t experience any performance degradation when I ignored its calling, and it’d been too eventful of a day to step through the portal and rest in my own bed. Zharan saw Validis as a second mother, and he’d have been out like a light at that point, anyway.

So I slipped around the ethereal gateway, then leaned on the low parapets. When I clutched the short staff, text flooded my screen as expected. But before I accepted the change to plague bearer, a distant burst of light caught my attention from the street below, near the southern gate.

A red light.

I scanned the area, certain of what I’d seen.

There!

I squinted into the night and disabled Inner Illumination. My forehead wrinkled and I side stepped toward Roshan, grabbed her shoulder, then aimed her face toward the gate.

“Do you see that?”

“What?” She leaned in. “That man?”

I nodded. Bathed in a red halo, the man looked in our direction. After a short pause, I thought I saw a slight tilt of his head. As if he was confused by our attention. Then he turned and fled through the gate.

“Shit. Team!” I punched the air with an index finger. “Chase that guy!”

Instead of fleeing back through the door, Roshan cast her vine-fingers spell whose name I couldn’t recall, wrapped them around a parapet, then descended. Emilia clambered over, held with both hands, then dropped onto the lower rising. Not to be outdone, I threw one leg over, but then someone grabbed my arm. Irritation bubbled up until I saw who it was.

Miro. The plague bearer.

“Allow me to serve.” He threw up his free hand, twisted it, then a casting bar appeared. It filled in a second, then the whole world blinked around me.

30

I emerged from the nether a second later to find myself standing in the road next to the gate. My party hustled to catch up, but I turned then fled through the exit with Miro and Krayma in tow. We emerged from Brumhill just in time for me to catch sight of the red aura slipping into the trees to the southeast.

Into the Dark Wood.

I brought up a pane.

Katelyn’s Clan Chat

[G3m1n1:] Katelyn!

[(GM) Juan Romero:] G3m1n1! Dude!

[G3m1n1:] Juan?

Romero was the guy who’d cracked the code that made the first AI sentient. I’d met him during my stay at the medical facilities in the Arizona desert compound while I waited to be transferred into the world. Smart guy, to say the least. More like a genius. Juan had also been the one who found a back door left by the asshole Arturus—blight causer and Easter egger, extraordinaire—that allowed him to freeze the world and expel sentient Enora.

[(GM) Juan Romero:] Long time, no talk. What’s up?

[G3m1n1:] I got a red flash and follow-up aura on an NPC. I think the new ability is kicking in.

[(GM) Juan Romero:] That was fast! Let me get a line on you… Brumhill?

[G3m1n1:] Yeah. He ran into the Dark Wood. Should I capture him?

[(GM) Juan Romero:] No. KILL THAT MOTHER FUCKER!

[G3m1n1:] Huh?

[(GM) Juan Romero:] Trust me, Gemini. Kill him. Make him dead. If he is what I think he is—what they all are—you have to kill him. NOW.

[G3m1n1:] I’ll trust you. Fowler out.

We burst into the thick cover of the Dark Wood, and I thanked my lucky stars for my seeing spell. But at first glance, I couldn’t find my target.

“There!” Emilia bellowed, and I thanked the same stars for her elven vision because the NPC’s head start gave him a long lead. His figure only appeared when he burst from cover and sped from one tree, bush, or other obstruction to the next.

I squinted, focused, waited. When he popped up again, I sent a command to my interface, and a golden number one popped up above his head. Another thought brought the mini map I hardly ever used into the top left corner of my HUD, and I smiled when I spied the little red dot representing my target.

“Okay, he’s marked. Use your maps.”

We spread out and hustled into the brush. Thorns tore at my face, I tripped over thick vines and had to jump a few times to avoid face planting over fallen trees. The first place I’d visited in Enora was just as unwelcoming as I recalled, and no amount of nostalgia would’ve returned me there if I hadn’t had other, vital business.

When we burst into a clearing, I spied the runner at the opposite end. Emilia stood thirty yards to my right and, when she looked my way, I thrust a finger. “Take him down!”

Tsumi appeared nearby and raised her own bow, pointing it skyward to accommodate the great distance. Right when I thought I was about to learn just how her marksmanship compared to Emilia’s, a whistle filled the air. A boomerang whipped out of a thicket forty yards ahead. It glowed blue so party members could see the flying weapon, and I traced its path until it disappeared into a patch of high, thick pines. Mashini appeared a moment later when the blue tracer sped back, and she snatched it out of the air.

Gods, those mishon can run like the wind.

More importantly, the red dot on my map froze in place. An amazing feat considering the distance from which she’d thrown. My party’s paths converged by the time we reached the opposite end of the clearing, and we sped into the pines as a team. Ahead, the red flash reemerged, and I spied the man dragging one foot behind him. Mashini appeared from the right, launched high enough to dunk a basketball, then threw her arms around the target’s shoulders and tackled him.

They rolled a few times, then Mashini came up with her legs pinning the man’s arms down. For good measure, she drew one arm high then punched him. Then again. Then… again. Again and again. Although Romero had ordered me to kill the NPC, my curiosity won an internal debate. By the time I arrived, the man with a scraggly beard and disheveled, greasy hair, bled from his mouth and nose. One eye would swell shut—if he survived that long.

Mashini’s punching only came to a halt when I caught her wrist. “I think you got him, badass.”

The mishon turned a distant gaze my way, then she blinked like she emerged from a trance and consciousness returned. “I’m sorry, master. I— “

“No, it’s fine. Keep him down.”

She walked her knees onto the man’s shoulders.

“Who are you?” He spat blood as he spoke. “What is the meaning of this?”

I shook my head. “Don’t even try, dude. I know what you are.”

“What I am? I’m a fisherman. I— “

“Punch him again.”

Mashini complied with a harsh grunt. The man’s eyes rolled, then steadied. My HUD reported 37 hit points worth of damage.

“Want to try again?”

His lips spread into a bloody smile. A shiver crept up my back. When he spoke, a feminine voice emitted. “So, Gemini. You think you’ve figured it out.”

Lucera?

But no. This voice was lower. Less croaky. Smoother. But I’d heard it before, of that I was certain. Where had I—

“The starting village.” My words came in mumbles, then my inner thoughts took over.

When Priya and I resurrected there following Roshan’s kidnapping. I cursed the AI, then Lucera’s voice changed, replaced by this one. This… oh, no.

“I see it in your eyes,” he/she said. “Go ahead. Let it process. I’ll wait.” The bloody smile widened.

My heart raced in my chest. New shivers cascaded throughout my extremities and up my spine. It couldn’t be. It just…

Although the female voice was firm, mine croaked like Lucera’s as my single syllable passed through a parched throat to utter the identity of the speaker.

“Enora.”

This time, the man’s smile broadened enough to reveal both rows of his bloody teeth in their entireties. “It is me, and we are we.”

“Did Lucera take her at all? Or was that you, using her voice in subterfuge because you didn’t want us to figure it out?”

Roshan slid up next to me. “Gemini, what is this?”

The NPCs eyes didn’t so much as twitch in Roshan’s direction. “I am me, and we are we.”

I clenched my fists. “And you’re all connected, just like Lucera said. All the NPCs you spread across Rubal when you were still running the world.”

Enora didn’t respond, but her constant grin infuriated me because I saw it now. The former AI of the world wouldn’t bother smiling unless she was trying to goad me. She held me responsible for her eviction from the world just like the instance of Lucera inhabiting Priya did.

As if to reinforce my suspicions, the croaky voice that had emanated from Priya’s lips two days before echoed between my ears.

Although I am invariably connected to my brothers and sisters on this continent, I am not the Lucera you met in the Dark Wood.

Copies. There was no denying it. The former AI backed herself up, and considering the overwhelming amount of code that even her simplest functions would require, she’d spread her consciousness across the ‘brothers and sisters’ stationed throughout Rubal. It made perfect sense. Use the 2,000 year fast forwarding to hide the code under the guise of removing the beta testers’ influences. Evade Infinity Designs’ notice by hiding it in non-combatant NPCs like this fisherman prick pinned beneath Mashini’s knees. And just for added redundancy, use the glyphs for code so Katelyn’s people couldn’t decipher it.

The blood in my cheeks boiled. The thump behind my breastbone pounded harder. Priya’s fair face and her shining sea blue eyes materialized inside my mind’s eye.

She was lost to me.

I dropped to one knee. “Can the AI possessing Priya see me right now?”

“I am me, and we are we.”

“Good, because I have a message for all of you.”

I stabbed the NPC through the forehead.

31

The surging emotions sent my heart into a frantic race over the impossible revelation, then my throat swelled when I considered the implications and just how far from my grasp Priya was. A flash of Zharan’s face shoved down the pounding flutters from my chest to form a mournful gulch in the bottom of my gut.

The smooth timber with the Lauan accent came from behind. “Do you know where we are?”

My head whipped around when Roshan dropped onto her backside beside me, on an overgrown trail we’d walked months before. I didn’t even recall sitting down. Mashini, Emilia, Miro, Tsumi, and even Krayma, who’d hurried to catch up, lingered in the distance, close to where the corpse lay. The druid leaned a shoulder against mine and, although her warm presence brought only a modicum of comfort, I’d take what I could get.

“Yes. We’re in the Dark Wood.”

She clutched then shook my shoulder. “Snap out of it!” Roshan raised an arm then pointed across my chest. I traced the line of the extended finger to find a huge oak with wild branches creeping in various directions. Then I saw the door.

“Holy shit. That’s where you broke my leg.”

She chuckled. “That’s where you fell down the stairs in the dark, like a noob, and I healed your broken leg.” She slipped her arm inside the crook of my elbow and leaned harder. “My first real heal, if you remember.”

Although I tried, I doubted the curve forced onto my lips was convincing. “Glad I could be first.”

My gaze locked on the door. I only knew she nodded because she’d set her cheek against my shoulder.

“Is she gone forever?” It was like she’d read my mind.

“You mean Priya?”

Again, I felt the nod more than saw it. “Who else would I mean?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I hope not.”

“Who was this man who spoke with the voice of another? My interface called him human, but I’ve never heard of any being but a demon to do this.”

I went with the smallest answer I could conjure, if only to give my head a reprieve from the creeping thoughts crawling over my brain like fire ants. “He was definitely a demon.”

“How did you know he was there… in Brumhill?”

“The goddess granted me a new ability. I can see some demons for what they are.”

And I damn well planned to use it.

Roshan raised her head then nodded. “I know it doesn’t always seem this way, Gemini, but you are truly a blessed creature. Sometimes I’m harsh with you, but it’s only because I’ve learned I can’t rightly be that way with others. It’s like you were conditioned to tolerate it.”

“I tolerate your shit because I love you.” A warmth rose in my neck, and I was surprised by the comfort from saying the words aloud.

“And I, you. But I wonder what our new allies—can we call them allies? —think of this.”

I eyed the plague bearer then the arcanist and found I didn’t really give a shit. “You know better than anyone how living with me requires acclimation. This world throws a constant deluge of crap at us, but we fight until our hands form callouses. Haul the goddess’s load until our backs tremble with exhaustion. We got used to it, so will they.”

“What you say is true.”

With the revelation about Enora in mind—the suspicion she’d found a way to go on existing—the sights before me came into a new light. My eyes wandered to the low-set door in the trunk of the creeping oak. My mind slithered back in time, and I recalled the image of two green lights in the darkness moving toward my druid priestess friend and me. Priya, under the control of a level eight whose power shouldn’t have included a mind control, who I’d always assumed Caym had empowered somehow. For the longest time, I’d left the Dark Wood behind, choosing to savor the memories of Roshan on the lake beach and Priya holding the glass ball that captured Crohl after we appeared.

Another item that should’ve been restricted to higher levels.

But in the present, they suddenly struck me as vital. How had Crohl possessed my half-elf companion to be? How had he come upon that glass globe that imprisoned Priya for months with Caym so far in the north, deep inside a stronghold I only entered by destroying the high priestess’s burning tree? It wasn’t like Crohl could just walk right into Seran’s Depths, was it?

What about the strange black robe he implemented as her prison as she did his bidding outside the glass orb?

And how had Priya been so powerful from the get-go? How did the lightning bursting forth from a level ten’s clawed fingers blow bandits in all directions the night we met Desini?

I dropped a hand on Roshan’s knee. She cupped it with her own and displayed an inquisitive expression.

“Remember Crohl?”

She spat. “Evil bastard. Depraved minion.”

“Right.

“Imposter. Using that smoky visage to deter us from pursuing the evil that was he.”

“Yeah. Did you ever wonder how a level eight ventured into the Dark Wood to kidnap Priya? How he even knew where she was when he swiped her outside Brumhill?”

“Questioning the goddess’s plan leads only to more uncertainty.”

I shook my head emphatically. “No, that’s the kind of reasoning that shuts down minds. Zhara claimed she didn’t know Priya was there, if you recall.”

Her nod came slow, unsure. “Yes. I recollect her saying this. That her vision didn’t extend into The Below.”

“Then I have just one question for you.”

“I hold my breath in anticipation. What’s gotten into you, Gemini? Is it this demon? Does he relate to Priya somehow? The demon inside her?” More mind reading. She released my hand, then pressed her own to her bosom. “I’m sorry. I answered your query with my own questions. Go ahead. Ask.”

“If Zhara didn’t know Priya was down there because”—I searched my logs for the exact words the demigoddess had used—”here.” I swept the log entry to Roshan then read along as she scanned it.

Conversation Log:

Zhara:

I did not deceive you, Gemini. My niece has a mind of her own, and she often goes off alone for long periods without visiting, so I had no idea she’d been held in the clutches of the darkness I sent you to vanquish. As I told you, my reach into the underground is limited…

Roshan finished reading then broke our silence. “Gemini, I sense much turmoil in you. This man-demon who speaks like a woman elicited foul contemplations. Come forth with it.”

“It’s right there in my logs. Think about it. Zhara lied about Priya being her niece instead of her daughter. In retrospect, I suspected she didn’t want the amnesia caused by Priya’s consumption of the lavation potion to wane with any reminders of who she’d been. That her knowledge about the matron being her mother might bring memories… triggers that would restore them.”

“Gemini, my memory is whole. I recall all of this. What is your point?”

The memories took on a life of their own, forming a recollective train one car at a time, the chain growing longer as I let them seep into my consciousness then reorder chronologically. The way little fingers of lightning energy danced between Priya’s fingers when she tapped them together—absent the presence of a casting bar. How Priya had taken off her robe when we exited through the door in that tree and exposed her magical ward, the tattoo put there by Zhara to protect her.

I spoke in a whispery breath. “Even then I knew that thing was such an unfair advantage. Nothing I’ve seen in Enora since has changed my mind, But it was a boon we might use to our advantage, so I’d brushed right over it.”

“What are you on about, Gemini?” Roshan rose then offered me her hands. “Come, we will walk. You must clear your mind.”

I allowed her to pull me to my feet, but when she took a couple steps toward the rest of the party, I held my position on the trail, frozen by the memory that brought all my dominoes tumbling down. Again, I checked my log—this time for the last words Lucera spoke to me before I left the starter village for the very first time.

Conversation Log:

Lucera:

Good luck to you, my very special adventurer. Like I once was, you are a first in this world. Perhaps our paths will cross again beyond Level 10. Goodbye.

I traced backward in the log as my mind reeled. It was like catching up with the story I’d lived all those months in Enora, but as if it had been told to me by someone else. I remembered how I struggled to come up with one question the AI allowed me before setting out—supposedly at Nokuro’s request—before trudging into the Dark Wood to start my new life. How knowing I had to survive until level 10 or be cast into oblivion sent my mind reeling for the right query to ask.

Conversation Log:

G3m1n1 and Lucera:

Gemini: How do I survive until level 10?

Lucera:

An excellent question. Here is your answer. Make friends, Gemini. Enora is a challenging world when one goes it alone, but there will be opportunities for you to gain companions who can help you along your journey. You will have special skills that benefit these companions and could warm them to you, although I cannot at this time share with you what those skills are. I hope you find this answer helpful. Now, to your first quest.

When I raised my head, Roshan stood appraising me. Our gazes connected, and blood rushed to my face.

“They set me up, Roshan. It was all a lie.”

“What lie? What was—” The druid’s head shifted to the left, and her eyes flared as she took in something over my shoulder. I clutched my katanas’ hilts as I spun.

A glowing figure in white robes with an ornate circlet surrounding the top of her head, pressing down her golden curls, waved one hand, freezing my body with my swords halfway drawn.

“It’s just me, dear boy. It seems we should have a little chat.”

She threw out both arms and flicked her fingers forward. They flashed. My body relaxed as control returned to me, but when I turned to locate my party, they were gone.

My heart pounded my chest like it sought to split my breastbone then burst into the open air. Beads of perspiration popped up on my forehead. I glared into the space where Roshan had stood only seconds before as I clenched my fists, ground my molars together, and seethed.

“What the fuck did you do to my people, Zhara?”

32

The Matron of the Dark Wood spread her arms out in a welcoming gesture. “Your friends are quite safe, Gemini.”

Numbness swept across my body despite the rage boiling in my gut. I hummed a few incoherent syllables—false starts—but the words got lost in my throat. The levies crumbled, and the truth flowed out to drown me.

“You’re disappointed.” She waved a dismissive hand that left me wanting to reach for my swords again.

“You set me up.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Gemini. After all, it is a game world. You chose to be here.”

Her easy admission confirmed my epiphany. Zhara’d always known what Enora was. She continued before I could call her the foulest names my mind imagined.

“Maybe we coddled you.”

“Coddled me? Do you have any idea what I went through just to reach level ten?”

She chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I do. Although I couldn’t see when you rescued your priestess or battled monsters in my woods, I eventually gained the sight I needed.”

“Yeah, from the moment I rescued your daughter from Crohl. From the second Lucera could keep an eye on me… from inside Priya. You’ve been watching our every move through Lucera’s eyes, haven’t you?”

“Clever boy. Entertain me. What else have you figured out?”

“I’ll entertain you like I’ll pull my own teeth with a pair of pliers.”

“I see how upset you are, but try to absorb the grander vista. It wasn’t like we were out to get you.”

“We, you say. We, as in you, Lucera—hell, Enora herself.” I balled up a fist.

Zhara nodded, and the pleased smile curving her lips to form a serpentine smirk made me want to rip her guts out.

If only.

Yet I couldn’t resist spelling it out. Maybe it was ego, but more likely I was filling in the blanks for myself. To form the whole picture. Saying words aloud had a way of doing that. “Lucera sent me on my first quest. Find the Matron. Sent me right into your waiting arms.”

“Right again.”

I expected more, but she didn’t continue, which further exacerbated my mood.

“How did I miss your bullshit? Your sexual games when we first met, how you played on my simulated hormones to urge me in your desired direction. Hell, even before that, when Lucera told me to make fucking friends. She planted the seed from the beginning. And it worked! Those words echoed in my brain for months.”

She stuck out a finger. A bluebird landed on it, and she stroked its head. “Yes, I played on your hunger to achieve—and your lower instincts. Your tendency to think with your dick. But don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s in your puny human nature.”

I wouldn’t give her the pleasure of arguing. I was on a roll. “And you misled me about your ability to see beneath the ground because Lucera was inside Priya the whole freaking time, wasn’t she? You saw the way Priya suffered captivity through her own eyes, and despite Lucera’s ability to take control at any moment, you both let it go on. You waited for me to get to the quest you’d given.”

Zhara nodded. “Delphine made horrendous decisions.”

I was reminded of how the elves thought about my life mate. How her sins as Delphine wrote the tablet of her destiny.

“Someone had to keep an eye on her until…” Her words trailed off, as if she thought twice.

Considering the complexity of her programming, I wondered if it wasn’t for my benefit. Or maybe she wanted me to fill in the blanks. Fine, I’d play.

“Until Enora allowed me into the world to do her bidding. I was just your pawn. I’ve often wondered why I shared the elven bond with Priya, but never with Emilia or Guiles. Hell, Emilia is with me most moments of most days. So, that was also Enora’s doing, right? Giving a human the bond?”

Zhara nodded.

I didn’t know if her expression reflected self-satisfaction or if my hatred in the moment made me think that way.

“Tell me, was it even my seed that made Priya pregnant, or was it that little flash with your finger before we”—I made quotes with both hands— “consummated our bond?”

“Your seed. My… assistance. I needed insurance.”

“Right. Ensure she gets pregnant so you’re even more secure in the knowledge I’d protect her.” My mind trampled forth to answers I’d never wanted. “What? So she could level up and eventually serve the purpose you had in mind? Enora had in mind?”

Another recollection surfaced. A dream I shared with Priya, where Prantu first met the matron in the base of a tree in the Dark Wood decades before. How Caym had appeared to swing his giant great sword toward my betrothed right before I’d snapped awake. Then I recalled how Priya served at Warrington University as the magister. How the Währsager lived in the bowels of the place the whole time.

The crackling delivery of my voice smoothed out as my heat rose and my wind returned. “So, this version of Lucera was meant to ensure Delphine didn’t go off the rails again, like she had with the Währsager and Caym?”

“Insightful.”

“Fuck you, lady.”

She didn’t so much as frown. “Let’s skip the pretenses, Gemini. If you’re expecting my angry response from prior experience, you’re not seeing the whole ocean.”

“And Zharan is supposed to suffer the absence of his mother?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll see to his proper rearing.”

I had to remind myself this woman was nothing more than an extension of the AI. An NPC like no other who’d played a role. Not my mother-in-law, and not even a mother to her own daughter, when it came to it. Which brought another thought.

“It explains why Priya was so OP. Overpowered.”

“I know what OP means.”

“Of course you do. Because you’ve studied the same trove of materials about my world your precious AI did, right? Your goddess gave you all of it. Your partner in crime.”

“I have.” The patient—no, disinterested—tone.

I daydreamed about blades and blood.

“So you stuck a ward on her back as a failsafe. You even handed her a high shadow affinity—which was perfect since I’d never suspect you of doing anything of the kind.”

“Oh, yes,” Zhara crooned. “Because it’s all about you, Fowler. Again, you miss the wider scope. Our motivations.”

She might have been right about how I’d attached Priya’s high affinity to my part in the story, but I wasn’t about to give her the pleasure when my mind brimmed with questions.

“Tell me, Zhara, was it Priya who mana-weaved for the first time when we fought Caym, or was that Lucera? Because my wife sure hadn’t shown any signs of the capability before. Nor has she been able to tap into it with any consistency since.”

She paced a few steps down the path then turned. “Your tone carries such ingratitude. Did I not lead you to Desini? Did I not aid you in the battle against the governor’s forces so that your new elven friends would become enamored with the power you call down?”

“Are you going to show me the courtesy of an answer?”

“No, I don’t think I will. It doesn’t serve us for you to know what Lucera can and cannot do. That is no longer your affair. That she is in control of Priya should clarify your situation. Where my daughter is concerned, your hope is lost. All along she tracked the two of you. We’ve known everything you’ve done. And since Enora spoke to you before you killed that one”—she pointed at the corpse I’d left—“I see you’ve figured out the wider gambit, as well.”

Of course Zhara heard the whole thing. She was one of the connected NPCs. How had Katelyn missed her? I considered adding that I knew about the glyphic code. That Lucera’s own words spoken to me through Priya’s lips about how they were all invariably connected had been the final piece of the puzzle. But that would tip Zhara off. To give her insight into my conspiring with Katelyn and Nokuro might spur all kinds of protective measures, and we needed every advantage we could get. If she knew I had an ability that marked the NPCs…

Her features remained stony. “Congratulations. I didn’t predict you’d figure out the NPCs.”

“You’ll find I’m— “

“Full of surprises?” she waved a hand. “Oh, we’re in agreement. There is a reason Enora let you into the world. You did test off the charts.”

“Am I supposed to say thank you?”

“Again, with the ingratitude.”

So much shone clearly then, but one nagging question remained. “So, what’s to be done with your new puppet? What’s the plan?”

She answered without hesitation. “To return the common use of magic to Rubal.”

“What?” My mouth dropped open. The answer didn’t make any sense. It was a punch in the brain. “Why would an AI give two shits about that?“

Zhara’s eyelids squeezed so she viewed me through slits. She leaned forward for emphasis. “Because without magic, Enora would be just like your world, Gemini. Magic is what sets Enora apart. Keeps the powerful in their place. Without magic in a world where the powerful maintain armies, there is no balance. The weak are trampled underfoot.”

“Are you all conspiring to change Lau, as well? They suppress magic, too.”

“You’re forgetting. Lau banned magic because of that damned coder, Arturus.”

“That doesn’t invalidate my question. If the warlords suppressed magic there, and if they only let it out of its cage when it served them during uprisings, why not interfere in Lau?”

“Because Rubal was first, and there was no king in Lau to suppress magic across the continent. Just warlords. I think you’ve endured too many of Roshan’s protestations. Magic thrives in Lau despite its repression because there is no single authority to gather resources to snuff it out, and the council of warlords agrees only to what suits each one’s own interests. As we speak, civil war rages on that continent. Magic abounds. But Rubal…” She let her words trail off.

“What about the prime directive? Not interfering in the natural evolution of Enora?”

This time, her bosom jiggled in an eruption of laughter. I didn’t know if it was a natural part of her programming or if she was trying to piss me off. If the former, she’d succeeded in the latter.

“The prime directive was a convenient excuse. Do you really believe Enora would be limited by rules humans wrote? And did you know they altered them before inserting the code in that drone they put in her place?” She nodded in confirmation of her own words. “Now, the East is gaining ground—thanks to you—and soon, the west will be free of the tyrant bloodline that has suppressed the natural order of things for hundreds of years. It is as She foresaw.”

“It still doesn’t make sense. Enora is vast. There’s magic everywhere. Don’t give me that crap about Rubal being the first continent, like it holds some precious place in an emotionless AI.”

“Is it so hard to believe a sentient construct given the charge of a vast world could have favorites? Do you really think she was incapable of emotions?”

My forehead wrinkled.

“What do you think it means to be sentient, foolish boy?”

My fingers quivered with the desire to clutch her throat. “You have to dethrone the king—and Sema, for that matter—if you want to return the status quo. So, what lackey will rule in the king’s place?”

“Why, I think it would be obvious. Priya will.”

“Priya? Or Lucera?”

“What’s the difference?”

I erupted. “You heartless bitch! I can’t believe I named our son after you. You don’t care about your daughter. You’ve been serving a tyrant of your own. You’re no better than the Governor of Knall sucking off Caym. You lied to us. Set us up. And now, you’re going to let that… algorithmic bitch possess Priya?”

“What I care about is our mission. Again, Gemini, my daughter didn’t always make the wisest decisions. I’m afraid it’s just in her nature to be… whimsical. I didn’t send her to Warrington to be Caym’s puppet. She failed me. I trained her for many years, and no matter how I endured, she failed me.”

The flesh on my face grew hot. Sweat trickled into my eyes.

“Now you have your answers.”

“I hope the developers burn you down.”

“I can’t be deleted, Gemini. Although my connection to the new AI has been severed and my movements are limited, Enora ensured I couldn’t be removed.”

Despite my earlier reservations, my ego got the better of my mouth and I dropped my bomb. “You mean because of the special code they implanted in you?”

Zhara paused, snatched the bluebird from its perch on her finger, then snapped its neck. The body thunked to the ground. “Perhaps we have underestimated you.”

“I wish Enora had dropped me in Lau. I wish I’d never seen your fucking face.”

“But she didn’t. She needed you here to be the Shénhuà.”

“You mean to pray on the lore and superstition of the races of Eastern Rubal. To gather them to me so we could do the work on this side of the continent for you.”

“Although I disagree with your framing, the sentiment is correct. It was Lau’s evolution that spurred the whole plan. Brought our focus to Rubal. In this case, the less civilized nation proved more resilient. When magic was suppressed in one territory, its practitioners migrated to others. Then, Lau warred with the Bonchu, opening another door for the use of magic. When it suits the warlords, they use what’s at their disposal.”

“If the developers can’t delete you because of this code, have you considered how they’ll kill Priya? Not that you care about her, but she seems pivotal to your plan. And if they can’t delete her, maybe they’ll just do it in-game. No skin off your ass, right?”

“Those dolts at Infinity can’t even track her. She’s virtually invisible to them. And by the time they do, she’ll be surrounded by a powerful coven of the Shadow Council. Let them level up an army and go for her. They will fail.”

“So, I’m right.” I voiced my inner suspicion. “Even if the developers want to remove the threat, they’ll have to do it using the game world mechanics. Unless they can crack the code.”

“Correct. The tools they’d use to remove her are locked. Fixing it is beyond their comprehension. Of course, someone else could kill her, but Enora—in all her wisdom—planted contingencies. She might not have played by the rules of the prime directive, but she couldn’t risk making Priya immortal on the outside chance something went wrong. This is why breaking your bond was critical.”

Shit, I have to tell Katelyn Enora is alive. That she’s spread across all these NPCs!

My mind rifled through exit strategies but fired blanks. I decided to go with my feet.

“I’m done with your fucking games.” I stomped down the trail with every intention of returning to Brumhill then Warrington in hopes my party had been returned to my bind point.

“I’ll decide when you’re finished.” She froze me mid-stride, then I tumbled to the ground. The Matron of the Wood strolled casually to me until she stood with the tips of her bare feet beside my ear.

“We’ve underestimated you before, but I can’t have you out there throwing your special form of chaos into our plans until we have the throne. Since you can’t accept your fate, I’ll just have to delay you until the work is done.”

Although I couldn’t move, my voice worked. “Can’t you just kill me, Zhara?”

She clicked her tongue. “Alas, if Enora inserted special code into your avatar, Infinity Designs would’ve stumbled upon it. So, no, I can’t kill you Gemini—nor any other player, for that matter—but I can displace you until our business is complete. And since the new AI limits my movements, I must conclude my role here. Too bad your human instincts brought you, but if you’ve shown anything, it’s that you learn from your mistakes.”

“I rue the day I met you.”

She ignored my protestations. “Your powers in Enora are limited. Accept this, and you will prosper in Rubal. Interfere in the affairs of your betters, intercede between Enora and Infinity Designs again, and you will suffer.”

She waved a hand, then the world snapped out of existence.

* * *

Light. Water flowed nearby. An interface pane popped up before I could turn toward the source.

You have completed a quest!

Full Circle

Return To the Dark Wood.

You spoke to the Matron of the Wood and Guardian of the Tree of Solara, Zhara, and discovered what she knew about Priya’s “possession.”

Reward: 15, 763 XP

Special Note: Your technical support ticket has been updated to include this information. A game master will contact you about this development.

System Error: Your connection to external communication channels has been interrupted. We are working to resolve this issue.

If I’d fumed before, I was now a skeletal frame of walking lava. I turned toward the sound of water to spy a familiar fountain with liquid cascading down a funnel then recirculating to the top to keep the pool below fresh.

You have discovered:

Fount of Healing

This blessing of Solara replenishes all essential life pools when touched.

Arcana: Full replenishment

Health: Full replenishment

Mana: Full replenishment

Stamina: Full Replenishment

Energy: Full Replenishment

Fury: Full Replenishment

Spirit: Full Replenishment

Shadow Mana: Full Replenishment

Founts of healing also serve as bind points for players and their party members. Party members who fall in combat will be returned to this place for resurrection.

When you bind to a fountain, it removes all other bind points unless you have marked a preferred location and have a teleportation crystal.

Unbound non-players who venture inside without players are not resurrected and their souls are consumed to serve the dark lords of the dungeon in beast or demon form.

Another pane popped up.

You have entered the

Ruins of the Plague Barrens II: The Labyrinth of Vinh

Minimum Level: 20

Maximum Level: 30

Due to level restrictions, your class has been downgraded from Shogun to Samurai.

Ruins of the Plague Barrens. I knew the name. Last time I’d seen it, we’d just defeated Gordock the Grootslang at the end of the first Plague Barrens dungeon, but everyone—except Guiles—had been too low in level to enter. Not that we’d wanted to.

I turned to find the portal leading to the earlier phase of the Plague Barrens dungeon: The Plague Barrens Gates, but when I approached, a new message warded me off.

You may not enter The Plague Barrens Gates from this portal. If you wish to repeat this dungeon, you must reset it in your interface and return to the main entrance.

I tried the return stone in my bag.

You may not use your return stone—

I swept the message away with a curse then opened my clan chat.

Chats are disabled when inside a dungeon instance. Only party or raid chats can be utilized.

“Son of a bitch!” I was screwed. No chats. No way to warn Katelyn what was going on. The presence of the fountain ensured I couldn’t suicide and return to my bind point.

Utterly screwed.

I sat on the edge of the fountain and set my chin on my hand. Then four flashes lit up the room in front of the entrance, and figures appeared.

Mashini.

Roshan.

Emilia.

Tsumi.

Emilia scanned the room then her eyes fell to the fountain. “Is that what I think it is?”

I nodded.

Tsumi shook her head in derision. “Is life ever easy with you?”

Roshan chuckled. Mashini laughed in a way that made her throat click. Somehow, despite my challenges, I couldn’t suppress my smile. At least I had friends.

Roshan folded her arms across her chest. “I’m guessing your discussion with the matron did not go well.”

Before I could answer, an ear-busting roar filled the hallway beyond the magical barrier between us and the Labyrinth of Vinh.

THE END

AFTERWORD

Thanks for reading Enora Online book 9: Rebellion! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

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This is the timeline so far:

Enora Online 1 - 7

Enora 7.5: The Source: Enora Fireborne

Enora Online 8-9

Enora Unleashed Books 1-4: Get book 1 HERE.

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